Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Rhizomatous perennial shrub. 0.3–1 m high. Juvenile branchlets with 100 prickles per dm. Juvenile leaves broadly ovate; deeply lobed throughout; with 3 pairs of lobes; lamina c. 11 cm long; lamina 13 cm wide; with c. 10 prickles on upper surface.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets brown, or green. Adult branchlets prickles 30–80 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 1.5–8 mm long; 8–16 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with scattered Type 2 hairs on lower half. Adult branchlets hairs Type 2, or simple. Adult branchlets stellae absent. Adult branchlets simple hairs erect, straight; not gland-tipped; 3–6 mm long. Adult branchlets Type 2 hairs sparse, or dense.
Leaves. Adult leaves broadly ovate, or orbicular; entire, or shallowly lobed throughout, or deeply lobed throughout; lobes 0 on each side, or 2–4 on each side; lobes acute, or obtuse; lobing index 1–3; lamina 7.5–16.5 cm long; lamina 6–13 cm wide; lamina 1–1.4 times longer than broad; apex acute; base obtuse, or cordate; oblique part 0–6 mm long; obliqueness index 0–4 percent. Adult leaves petioles 3.8–6.2 cm long; 35–55 % length of lamina; prickles present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green; prickles present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 4–30; prickles straight, acicular, or straight, broad-based; prickles 3–10 mm long; stellate hairs absent; stellate hair density absent from surface. Upper leaf surface simple hairs erect, straight; sparse, or moderate to dense; not gland-tipped; 1–4 mm long. Upper leaf surface Type 2 hairs present only in vein depressions.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface green; prickles present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 30–50; prickles straight, acicular, or straight, broad-based. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density absent. Lower leaf surface simple hairs absent, or erect, straight; sparse, or moderate to dense; not gland-tipped; 1.5–3 mm long. Lower leaf surface Type 2 hairs present only on veins.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence supra-axillary; solitary, or sessile (contracted); common peduncle absent; 1–5-flowered; weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 8–21 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.3–0.4 mm thick at mid-point; prickles present. Calyx tube at anthesis 1–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate; 1.5–3 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis present; 20–30 per flower; 1.5–6 mm long. Calyx stellae absent. Calyx simple hairs present. Calyx Type 2 hairs present. Corolla white; 7–10 mm long; deeply lobed; inner surface glabrous. Anthers 4.5–6 mm long. Ovary with Type 2 hairs only. Functional style 5.5–7 mm long; erect; glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit; prickles 3–7 mm long. Mature fruits 1–3 per inflorescence; globular; 25–45 mm diameter; orange; 1-locular (septum absent or incomplete); placenta not apparent; mesocarp dry; exocarp 2 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 17–28 mm long; 1–1.4 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 4.8–5.5 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales. Moreton, Wide Bay, Burnett, Cook, South Kennedy. North Coast (NC), Central Coast (CC), North-western slopes (NWS). Evergreen notophyll rainforest (no eucalypts), wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins.
Miscellaneous. Naturalised. Common name: Devil's Apple. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • leaf and mature fruit.
The interactive key provides access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, and summaries of attributes within groups of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2005 onwards. Solanum species of Eastern Australia. Version: 8th October 2006. http://delta-intkey.com’.
