Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Rhizomatous perennial shrub, or perennial vine. 2–5 m high. Juvenile branchlets with c. 20 prickles per dm. Juvenile branchlets prickles 2–3 mm long. Juvenile leaves ovate; shallowly-lobed throughout; with 6–7 pairs of lobes; lamina c. 22 cm long; lamina 15 cm wide; with c. 90 prickles on upper surface.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets yellow, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles 15–30 per decimetre; curved, broad-based; 2–6 mm long; 2–5 times longer than wide; with scattered stellate hairs on lower half. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae sparse to moderate to dense; 0.15–0.25 mm diameter; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 6–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray absent.
Leaves. Adult leaves elliptical, or ovate, or broadly ovate; entire, or shallowly lobed throughout; lobes 0 on each side, or 2–6 on each side; lobes obtuse; lobing index 1–1.3; lamina 10–14.5 cm long; lamina 4.5–7 cm wide; lamina 1.9–2.5 times longer than broad; apex acute, or acuminate; base cuneate or attenuate; oblique part 3–7 mm long; obliqueness index 2–6 percent. Adult leaves petioles 1.3–2.4 cm long; 13–18 % length of lamina; prickles absent, or present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green; prickles absent, or present on midvein only, or present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 0–15; prickles straight, broad-based; prickles 5–7 mm long; stellate hairs confined to midrib, or distributed throughout; protostellae absent; stellate hair density absent from surface, or very sparse. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.7–4.5 mm apart; 0.25–0.35 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 7–9; porrect; central ray 0–0.5 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, or present on midvein only, or present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 0–4; prickles straight, acicular, or straight, broad-based. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae c. 0.05 mm apart; 0.25–0.35 mm diameter; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 7–10; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0 times as long as laterals. Lower leaf surface simple hairs absent. Lower leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence supra-axillary; cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle absent, or present; common peduncle 0–10 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 5–17-flowered; weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 12–23 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.6–0.9 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 1–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate; 3–5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae very dense; transparent, or purple; 0.2–0.3 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 8–10; central ray 0–0.5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla mauve; 8–14 mm long; deeply lobed; inner surface sparsely stellate-hairy, or densely stellate-hairy. Anthers 5–6.5 mm long. Ovary with stellate hairs only. Functional style 7–8.5 mm long; erect; with stellate hairs only; stellae 0.2–0.4 mm across; stellae lateral rays 11–15; stellae central ray 0.5–1 times as long as laterals.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit; prickles absent. Mature fruits 1–3 per inflorescence; oblate, or globular; 30–35 mm diameter; yellow, or yellowish-green; 2-locular; placenta stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 3.8–4.2 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 29–39 mm long; 0.9–1.8 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 2.3–2.8 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Cook. 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’.