Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Rhizomatous perennial shrub. 0.3–1 m high. Juvenile stage unknown.
Branchlets. Adult stems bark furrowed, corky. Adult branchlets terete, or ridged; yellow, or rusty, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles 30–160 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 1–5 mm long; 10–16 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with dense stellate hairs on lower part. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae very dense; 0.25–0.7 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.7 mm long; lateral rays 6–9; lateral rays ascending; central ray 1–2 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; thready, or rigid.
Leaves. Adult leaves ovate, or broadly ovate; entire; lamina 3.5–7.5 cm long; lamina 1.5–3.5 cm wide; lamina 1.7–2.3 times longer than broad; apex acute; base obtuse, or cordate; oblique part 0–3 mm long; obliqueness index 0–6 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.8–2.6 cm long; 16–35 % length of lamina; prickles absent, or present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface grey; prickles absent; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae absent; stellate hair density very dense. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae c. 0.05 mm apart; 0.5–0.7 mm across; stalks 0–0.7 mm long; lateral rays 6–8; porrect; central ray 1.2–2.5 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; prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density dense to very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.05–0.1 mm apart; 0.4–0.8 mm diameter; stalks 0–1 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 1.5–2 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 leaf-opposed; solitary, or cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle 5–14 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 1–2-flowered; strongly andromonoecious, or weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 4–11 mm long; same thickness throughout, or markedly thicker distally; 1.1–1.5 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 3.5–5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate; 4–7 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae very dense; transparent, or brown or rusty; 0.5–0.7 mm across; stalks 0.3–0.9 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; central ray 1–2 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla white, or mauve, or purple; 12–17 mm long; shallowly lobed, or deeply lobed; inner surface densely stellate-hairy. Anthers 5.5–7.5 mm long. Ovary glabrous, or with Type 2 hairs only. Functional style 10.5–12.5 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; 14–18 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 4-locular; placenta stalked, circular to elliptical; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 2.4–3 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 7–13 mm long; 1.3–1.5 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds brown to black; 2.5–2.8 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Mitchell, North Kennedy, Burke. Shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
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’.