Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.2–0.4 m high. Juvenile stage unknown.
Branchlets. Adult stems prickles present. Adult branchlets yellow, or rusty, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles absent, or present; 0–2 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 4–7 mm long; 7–10 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with scattered stellate hairs on lower half. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae very dense; 0.5–0.6 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.8–1.2 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; thready. Adult branchlets simple hairs absent.
Leaves. Adult leaves lanceolate, or ovate; entire; lamina 2.8–8.5 cm long; lamina 1.1–4.2 cm wide; lamina 2–2.5 times longer than broad; apex obtuse, or acute; base cuneate or attenuate, or obtuse, or cordate; oblique part 0–1.5 mm long; obliqueness index 0–4 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.8–2.6 cm long; 17–40 % length of lamina; prickles absent.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface grey-green, or grey; prickles absent; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae absent; stellate hair density dense to very dense. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.05–0.2 mm apart; 0.5–0.7 mm across; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; porrect; central ray 0.7–1.1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Upper leaf surface simple hairs absent. Upper leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface white, or yellowish, or rusty; prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.05–0.1 mm apart; 0.5–0.8 mm diameter; stalks 0.1–0.3 mm long; lateral rays 6–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.7–1.1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Lower leaf surface simple hairs absent. Lower leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence supra-axillary; cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle 4–23 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 1–4-flowered. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 5–7 mm long; same thickness throughout, or markedly thicker distally; 0.9–1.3 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis c. 4 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis rostrate; 3–4 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae very dense; brown or rusty; 0.4–0.5 mm across; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; central ray 0.7–1.2 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla mauve, or purple; 10–13 mm long; shallowly lobed, or deeply lobed; inner surface sparsely stellate-hairy, or densely stellate-hairy. Anthers 4.3–6.2 mm long. Ovary glabrous. Functional style c. 9 mm long; erect; glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit, or lobes more than half length of mature fruit; prickles absent. Mature fruits 1 per inflorescence; globular; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked. Pedicels at fruiting stage 15 mm long; 1 mm thick at mid-point.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Warrego, Mitchell. Red earths in mulga (Acacia aneura) dominated communities.
Miscellaneous. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • closeup of flowers. • whole plant.
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’.
