Background and aims – Black nightshade, or the Solanum nigrum complex, includes a number of species that botanists consider problematic due to their morphological resemblance and the high rate of hybridization between the species. As part of the revision of the family Solanaceae for the Flore d’Afrique centrale, we realized a molecular a study ofon the Solanum nigrum complex was carried out in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Material and methods – A total of 21 samples of this complex were collected and identified using the recent revision by Särkinen et al. (2018). The DNA of each specimen was extracted and then amplified by PCR for 4 molecular markers: the two nuclear regions waxy and ITS, and the two chloroplastics markers trnL-F and trnH-psbA. Additional sequences of specimens reliably identified were obtained from GenBank.
Key results – The combined molecular data set allowed for the identification of two distinct groups. The first consists of Solanum scabrum, while specimens of the second belong to Solanum americanum.
Conclusion – We conclude that in the western part of D.R. Congo, two species of the Solanum nigrum complex occur, both showing high morphological variability, while the true Solanum nigrum is absent from that region. The results confirm the taxonomic decisions of Särkinen et al. (2018). The generally low resolution in the analyses did not allow to visualize a geographical signal in the variation.