Herb less than 2 m tall, sometimes climbing, with fleshy leaves, often ovate, with small white or cream-coloured wineskin-shaped flowers.
Scientific name: Salpichroa origanifolia (Lam.) Baill.
Common name: cock's eggs, lily of the valley vine, lily-of-the-valley vine, pampas lily of the valley, pampas lily-of-the-valley
Family: Solanaceae
Status in Portugal: Invasive species in the Azores and on Madeira (listed in Decree-Law no. 92/2019, 10 July), naturalized in mainland Portugal, but increasingly emerging with invasive behaviour.
Risk Assessment Score: 17 | Value obtained according to a protocol adapted from the Australian Weed Risk Assessment (Pheloung et al. 1999), by Morais et al. (2017), according to which values above 13 mean that the species has risk of having invasive behavior in the Portuguese territory | Updated on 30/09/2017.
Synonymy: Atropa origanifolia (Lam.) Desf., Atropa rhomboidea Gillies & Hook., Jaborosa montevidensis Casar., Perizoma rhomboidea (Gillies & Hook.) Small, Physalis origanifolia Lam., Salpichroa rhomboidea (Gillies & Hook.) Miers, Salpichroa rhomboidea var. mollis Dammer.
Last update: 28/11/2017 | Profile prepared by the Azores Biodiversity Group Team, from the University of the Azores.
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How to recognize it
Decumbent or scandent perennial herb, less than 2 m long, with short, sparse or dense hairs.
Leaves: up to 50 x 37 mm, slightly fleshy, entire, ovate, suborbicular, elliptical or rhomboid, obtuse, usually two per node, unequal; petiole 5–30 mm.
Flowers: solitary in leaf axils, pendulums; pedicels 7–10 mm. Campanulate calyx (2–4 mm). Corolla urceolate, white or cream (6–8 mm) with triangular lobes.
Fruits: obtuse, conical berry (10–15 x 8-12 mm), white to pale yellow, translucent.
Flowering: from Abril to December.
Similar species
When it has only leaves, it can be confused with spinach (Tetragonia tetragonioides (Pallas) Kuntze), oregano (Origanum spp.) or nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.). feature allowing easy distinction.
The leaves of Solanum nigrum (left) may be similar but it is well distinguished from Salpichroa origanifolia (right) because the flowers have very different shapes.
Characteristics that aid invasion
The plant reaches its sexual maturity in 1 year and reproduces seminally with hundreds of seeds/plant/year and vegetatively with plant fragments.
Native distribution area
South America (SE Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay).
Distribution in Portugal
Portugal Continental (Minho, Beira Litoral, Beira Baixa, Ribatejo, Estremadura, Baixo Alentejo), archipelagos dos Açores (islands de Faial, Graciosa, São Jorge, Terceira, São Miguel e Santa Maria) e da Madeira (ilha da Madeira).
For more detailed locations of this species, check the online interactive map. This map is still incomplete – we need your help! Contribute by submitting records of the location of the species where you can find it.
Geographical areas where there is a record of Salpichroa origanifolia (Lam.) Baill.
Other places where the species is invasive
North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Introduction reasons
Intentional introduction for ornamental purposes.
Preferential invasion environments
Coastal dunes, rocky coasts, cliffs, lava flows, Festuca meadows, rubble sites, cultivated land and vegetation of anthopic origin, hedges.
