Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Prostrate, or sprawling. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.1–0.5 m high. Juvenile stage absent.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets yellow, or brown, or green. Adult branchlets prickles 30–300 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 1–8 mm long; 12–17 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with scattered Type 2 hairs on lower half. Adult branchlets hairs simple, or stellate. Adult branchlets stellae sparse to moderate to dense; 0.6–1 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 4–5; lateral rays porrect; central ray 2–5 times as long as laterals; central ray gland-tipped; thready, or rigid. Adult branchlets simple hairs erect, straight; gland-tipped; 0.2–1.7 mm long.
Leaves. Adult leaves ovate, or broadly ovate; shallowly lobed throughout; lobes 4–5 on each side; lobes acute; lobing index 1.1–1.2; lamina 5–10.5 cm long; lamina 4–7.5 cm wide; lamina 1.3–1.7 times longer than broad; apex acute; base obtuse, or cordate; oblique part 0–8 mm long; obliqueness index 0–8 percent. Adult leaves petioles 3.4–5.4 cm long; 40–55 % length of lamina; prickles present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green; prickles present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 30–145; prickles straight, acicular; prickles 1–7 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, or gland-tipped; 0.2–2 mm long. Upper leaf surface Type 2 hairs present throughout; 0.1–1 mm apart.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface green; prickles present on midvein only, or present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 20–65; prickles straight, acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density very sparse to moderate. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.5–3 mm apart; 0.5–0.9 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 4–6; lateral rays porrect; central ray 2–5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Lower leaf surface simple hairs erect, straight; sparse, or moderate to dense; not gland-tipped, or gland-tipped; 0.1–1.4 mm long. Lower leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence supra-axillary; cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle 18–27 mm long; rachis prickles present; 2–7-flowered; with all flowers bisexual. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 4–7 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.2–0.4 mm thick at mid-point; prickles present. Calyx tube at anthesis 1.5–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis attenuate; 7–11 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis present; 25–35 per flower; 2.5–6 mm long. Calyx stellae absent, or very sparse to sparse, or moderate; transparent; 0.5–0.7 mm across; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 2–4; central ray 4–6 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs present. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla mauve; 8–12 mm long; shallowly lobed; inner surface glabrous. Anthers 3.5–5 mm long. Ovary with Type 2 hairs only. Functional style 5–6 mm long; erect; glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes more than half length of mature fruit, or lobes exceeding mature fruit; prickles 2.5–6 mm long. Mature fruits 1–6 per inflorescence; globular; 11–13 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 2-locular; placenta stalked, circular to elliptical; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 0.6–0.7 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 5–9 mm long; 0.6–1 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 1.7–2.1 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Cook, North Kennedy. Evergreen notophyll rainforest (no eucalypts), wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins.
Miscellaneous. Data source: specimens.
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’.