Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Prostrate, or sprawling. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.1–0.6 m high. Juvenile stage absent.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets brown, or green. Adult branchlets prickles 80–180 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 1–7 mm long; 10–17 times longer than wide; glabrous. Adult branchlets hairs simple, or stellate. Adult branchlets stellae sparse to moderate; 0.5–0.6 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 5–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.7–1.5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; rigid. Adult branchlets simple hairs erect, straight; gland-tipped; 0.1–0.7 mm long.
Leaves. Adult leaves ovate, or broadly ovate; shallowly lobed throughout; lobes 3–6 on each side; lobes acute; lobing index 1.2–1.4; lamina 6–12.5 cm long; lamina 4.5–9.5 cm wide; lamina 1.3–1.8 times longer than broad; apex acute; base obtuse, or cordate; oblique part 1–10 mm long; obliqueness index 2–11 percent. Adult leaves petioles 2–5.6 cm long; 20–50 % length of lamina; prickles present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green; prickles present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 15–100; prickles straight, acicular; prickles 2–8 mm long; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae absent; stellate hair density very sparse to sparse. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.8–1.7 mm apart; 0.3–0.4 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 4–7; porrect; central ray 2–3 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Upper leaf surface simple hairs erect, straight; sparse; not gland-tipped, or gland-tipped; 0.1–0.6 mm long. Upper leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface green; prickles present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 30–100; prickles straight, acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density sparse to moderate. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.4–1.5 mm apart; 0.5–0.7 mm diameter; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 4–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 1–1.7 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Lower leaf surface simple hairs erect, straight; sparse, or moderate to dense; gland-tipped; 0.1–0.6 mm long. Lower leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence supra-axillary; cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle 2–16 mm long; rachis prickles present; 2–5-flowered; weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 5–18 mm long; markedly thicker distally; 0.4–1 mm thick at mid-point; prickles present. Calyx tube at anthesis 3–5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate, or attenuate; 4–8 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis present; 36–70 per flower; 2–7 mm long. Calyx stellae very sparse to sparse, or moderate; transparent; 0.4–0.5 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 4–8; central ray 1–1.5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs present. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla mauve, or purple; 9–17 mm long; rotate, or campanulate; inner surface glabrous. Anthers 4–5 mm long. Ovary glabrous, or with Type 2 hairs only. Functional style 9–10.5 mm long; sigmoid; glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit; prickles 2–7 mm long. Mature fruits 1–2 per inflorescence; globular; 21–26 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 2-locular; placenta stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 2.5 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 15–28 mm long; 1.3–2 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 2.3–2.6 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales. Moreton, Darling Downs. North Coast (NC), Northern Tablelands (NT). Evergreen notophyll rainforest (no eucalypts), wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins.
Miscellaneous. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • leaves and flower. • plant habit. • branchlet showing simple hairs. • holotype.
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’.
