Taxon: Solanum retroflexum Dunal

Summary

Genus:

Solanum

Subgenus:

Solanum

Section:

Solanum

Family:

Solanaceae

Subfamily:

Solanoideae

Tribe:

Solaneae

Nomen number:

404900

Place of publication:

A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1):50. 1852

Verified:

12/02/2010 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3 (3 active, 3 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Solanum ×burbankii Bitter

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Arnold, T. H. & B. C. De Wet, eds. 1993. Plants of southern Africa: names and distribution. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa no. 62
Edmonds, J. M. & J. A. Chweya. 1997. Black nightshades. Solanum nigrum L. and related species. In: International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 15:34.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Henderson, R. J. F. 1974. Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae) and related species in Australia. Contr. Queensland Herb. 16:60-61.
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening Note: = Solanum ×burbankii
Jaeger, P. M. L. & F. N. Hepper. 1986. A review of the genus Solanum in Africa. In: D'Arcy, W. G., ed., Solanaceae: biology and systematics 49. Note: mentions
Knapp, S. et al. 2019. A revision of the morelloid clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in North and Central America and the Caribbean. PhytoKeys 123:103-107.
PBI Solanum Project. Solanaceae source: a global taxonomic resource for the nightshade family (on-line resource).
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Schilling, E. E. et al. 1992. Common names and species identification in black nightshades Solanum sect. Solanum (Solanaceae). Econ. Bot. 46:224. Note: mentions
Schilling, E. E. 1981. Systematics of Solanum sect. Solanum (Solanaceae) in North America. Syst. Bot. 6:183. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
Wu, Y. et al. 2023. Phylogenomic discovery of deleterious mutations facilitates hybrid potato breeding. Cell 186:1-16. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.04.008. Note: USDA accession (PI 688410) of Solanum retroflexum was used for de novo assembly of its genome

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	sunberry			1	Schilling, E. E. 1981. Systematics of Solanum sect. Solanum (Solanaceae) in North America. Syst. Bot. 6:183. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
English	wonderberry			1	Schilling, E. E. 1981. Systematics of Solanum sect. Solanum (Solanaceae) in North America. Syst. Bot. 6:183. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Sudan
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Lesotho			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Cape Province		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Free State		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Transvaal		Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Mauritania
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Nigeria
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone
2	Cultivated	Northern America		North America		sparingly cult.	Knapp, S. et al. 2019. A revision of the morelloid clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in North and Central America and the Caribbean. PhytoKeys 123:103-107.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	South Australia		Henderson, R. J. F. 1974. Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae) and related species in Australia. Contr. Queensland Herb. 16:60-61.

Native
Africa

NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Tanzania
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [Cape Province, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]

Cultivated
Northern America

REGION: North America (sparingly cult.)

Naturalized
Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [South Australia]

Reference(s)

Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Henderson, R. J. F. 1974. Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae) and related species in Australia. Contr. Queensland Herb. 16:60-61.
Knapp, S. et al. 2019. A revision of the morelloid clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in North and Central America and the Caribbean. PhytoKeys 123:103-107.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Human food	fruit		Schilling, E. E. 1981. Systematics of Solanum sect. Solanum (Solanaceae) in North America. Syst. Bot. 6:183. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=404900. Accessed 12 May 2026.