Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Prostrate. Herbaceous resprouter, or rhizomatous perennial shrub. 0.1–0.3 m high. Juvenile stage absent.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets white, or grey, or mauve, or yellow, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles 10–250 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 1–8 mm long; 7–15 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with dense stellate hairs on lower part. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae dense to very dense; 0.5–0.8 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.3 mm long; lateral rays 7–12; lateral rays porrect, or ascending; central ray 0.5–1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; thready.
Leaves. Adult leaves elliptical, or ovate; entire; lamina 3.5–14 cm long; lamina 1.5–5.2 cm wide; lamina 1.7–2.9 times longer than broad; apex obtuse, or acute; base cuneate or attenuate, or obtuse, or cordate; oblique part 0–9 mm long; obliqueness index 0–6 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.8–4.6 cm long; 20–70 % length of lamina; prickles present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface grey-green, or grey; prickles present on midvein only, or present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 2–20; prickles straight, acicular; prickles 1–7 mm long; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae absent; stellate hair density sparse to very dense. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.1–0.5 mm apart; 0.4–0.7 mm across; stalks 0–0.3 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; porrect; central ray 0.5–1 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; prickles absent, or present on midvein only, or present on midvein and lateral veins; prickles 0–40; prickles straight, acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density dense to very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.05–0.3 mm apart; 0.5–0.8 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.4 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.5–1 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; solitary, or sessile (contracted), or cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle absent, or present; common peduncle 0–40 mm long; rachis prickles present; 1–9-flowered; weakly andromonoecious, or with all flowers bisexual. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 4–16 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.7–0.9 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent, or present. Calyx tube at anthesis 1.5–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate, or attenuate; 2–10 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis present; 5–50 per flower; 1–5 mm long. Calyx stellae moderate, or dense, or very dense; yellow, or white, or brown or rusty; 0.4–1 mm across; stalks 0–0.4 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; central ray 0.8–1 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; 5–12 mm long; shallowly lobed, or deeply lobed; inner surface glabrous, or sparsely stellate-hairy. Anthers 3–6 mm long. Ovary glabrous, or with Type 2 hairs only. Functional style 5.5–10 mm long; erect, or sigmoid; glabrous, or with Type 2 hairs only.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit, or lobes more than half length of mature fruit; prickles 1–5 mm long. Mature fruits 1–5 per inflorescence; globular; 13–17 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 2-locular, or 4-locular; placenta stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 0.6–2.1 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 7–19 mm long; 0.8–2.1 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 2.2–2.7 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales. All. Central western slopes (CWS), North western Plains (NWP), South western Plains (SWP), North far western Plains (NFWP). Semi-evergreen vine thicket or brigalow/belah, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest, lancewood communities (dominated by Acacia catenulata, shirleyi, burrowii, etc.), red earths in mulga (Acacia aneura) dominated communities, shrublands in arid zone.
Miscellaneous. Common name: Potato Bush. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • fruits. • small 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’.
