Confirmation of black nightshade species through DNA barcoding

Fifty two accessions of black night shade collected from various sources of India were grown in the experimental farm of the Department of Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Morphological characterization was done with standard descriptor. Among the fifty two accessions, thirty nine were grouped into S. nigrum, S. americanum and S. villosum descriptors. Thirteen accessions were morphologically distinct and to solve the conflict whether they are different species or morphologically distinct genotypes within species, hence, they were subjected to DNA barcoding. Based on the results, the thirteen accessions were grouped into three distinct species viz., S. nigrum, S. americanum and S. villosum.