Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Rhizomatous perennial shrub. 0.8–2 m high. Juvenile branchlets with 30–50 prickles per dm. Juvenile branchlets prickles 1–7 mm long. Juvenile leaves ovate; entire, or shallowly-lobed throughout; with 2–3 pairs of lobes; lamina 9.5–14 cm long; lamina 5.5–6 cm wide; with 0–7 prickles on upper surface.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets grey, or yellow, or rusty, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles absent, or present; 0–5 per decimetre; straight, broad-based; 0.5–6 mm long; 4–7 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with scattered stellate hairs on lower half. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae dense to very dense; 0.3–0.5 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 6–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.3–0.7 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; rigid.
Leaves. Adult leaves lanceolate, or ovate; entire; lamina 4.5–16.5 cm long; lamina 1.3–6.5 cm wide; lamina 2.1–4.5 times longer than broad; apex acute; base cuneate or attenuate, or obtuse; oblique part 0–5 mm long; obliqueness index 0–6 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.3–2.5 cm long; 7–30 % length of lamina; prickles absent.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green, or grey-green; prickles absent; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae present; stellate hair density moderate density to dense. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.1–0.2 mm apart; 0.15–0.25 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 4–10; ascending; 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; prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density dense to very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.05–0.1 mm apart; 0.4–0.6 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.2–0.6 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; sessile (contracted), or cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle absent, or present; common peduncle 0–5 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 2–7-flowered; weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 4–9 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.5–0.8 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 3–4.5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis attenuate; 1–5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae dense to very dense; yellow; 0.25–0.4 mm across; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; central ray 0.5–1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla purple; 9–13 mm long; shallowly lobed; inner surface sparsely stellate-hairy. Anthers 4.5–5.5 mm long. Ovary with Type 2 hairs only. Functional style 8–9 mm long; erect; with stellate hairs only, or with Type 2 hairs only; stellae c. 0.3 mm across; stellae lateral rays 5–6; 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 1–2 per inflorescence; globular; 16 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 2-locular; placenta sessile, linear; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 2 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 7–10 mm long; 0.8–1 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 2.3–2.8 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Cook. Wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
Miscellaneous. Data source: specimens.
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Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2005 onwards. Solanum species of Eastern Australia. Version: 8th October 2006. http://delta-intkey.com’.