Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Rhizomatous perennial shrub. 1–3 m high. Juvenile branchlets with 60–90 prickles per dm. Juvenile leaves ovate; entire, or shallowly-lobed throughout; with 2–3 pairs of lobes; lamina 6–8 cm long; lamina 2.5–4 cm wide; with 2–10 prickles on upper surface.
Branchlets. Adult stems bark furrowed, corky. Adult branchlets grey, or yellow, or rusty, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles absent, or present; 0–15 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 4–10 mm long; 9–12 times longer than wide; glabrous. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae dense; 0.4–0.9 mm diameter; stalks 0.1–0.6 mm long; lateral rays 4–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 1–1.5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; rigid.
Leaves. Adult leaves ovate; entire; lamina 3–11.5 cm long; lamina 1.1–4.5 cm wide; lamina 2.1–2.7 times longer than broad; apex acute; base cuneate or attenuate, or obtuse; oblique part 0–7 mm long; obliqueness index 0–7 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.5–1.3 cm long; 8–18 % length of lamina; prickles absent.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green; prickles absent, or present on midvein only; prickles 0–2; prickles straight, acicular; prickles 5–7 mm long; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae present; stellate hair density sparse to moderate density. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.4–0.7 mm apart; 0.4–0.8 mm across; stalks 0–0.3 mm long; lateral rays 4–7; porrect; central ray 1–2 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Upper leaf surface simple hairs erect, straight; sparse, or moderate to dense; not gland-tipped; 0.1–0.3 mm long. Upper leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface yellowish, or rusty; prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density dense. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.1–0.3 mm apart; 0.6–1 mm diameter; stalks 0.1–0.7 mm long; lateral rays 4–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 1–2 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; cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle 9–12 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 5–8-flowered; weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 2–8 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.5–0.7 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 1.5–3.5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate, or attenuate; 2–5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae dense; transparent; 0.5–0.8 mm across; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 4–8; central ray 1–1.5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped, or gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs present. Corolla mauve, or purple; 9–17 mm long; shallowly lobed; inner surface glabrous, or sparsely stellate-hairy. Anthers 4.5–7 mm long. Ovary glabrous. Functional style 8.5–10 mm long; erect; glabrous, or with stellate hairs only; stellae c. 0.4 mm across; stellae lateral rays c. 4; stellae central ray c. 2 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; 15–21 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 2-locular; placenta stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 2–2.6 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 4–8 mm long; 0.6–0.8 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 2.5 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Burnett, Maranoa, Leichhardt, Port Curtis, South Kennedy, North Kennedy. Semi-evergreen vine thicket or brigalow/belah, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
Miscellaneous. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • mature fruit. • bark. • upper leaf surface.
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’.
