| | Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia |
Habit. Sprawling or erect. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.3 m high.
Branchlets. Branchlets grey or yellow. Branchlet prickles 5–30 per decimetre, straight and acicular, 3–6 mm long, 10–15 times longer than wide, glabrous or with stellate hairs only at base. Branchlet hairs stellate. Branchlet stellate hairs very dense, 0.3–0.5 mm diameter, stalks 0–0.1 mm long, lateral rays 6–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray present, central ray 0.5–1 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped, rigid.
Leaves. Leaves narrow lanceolate or lanceolate or elliptical or ovate, 1.5–5 cm long, 0.4–1.8 cm wide, 2.4–7 times longer than broad, entire or shallowly lobed throughout, lobes 0 on each side or 2–3 on each side, lobes obtuse, lobing index 1–1.8. Leaf apex obtuse, base cuneate, oblique part 0–5 mm long, obliqueness index 0–9 percent. Petioles 0.3–2.2 cm long, 17–55% length of lamina, prickles absent or present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green, prickles absent or present on midvein only, prickles 0–4, prickles straight and acicular, prickles 3–6 mm long. Upper leaf surface stellate hairs distributed throughout, protostellae absent, very sparse to sparse, 0.3–0.9 mm apart, 0.25–0.4 mm across, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 6–8, lateral rays 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 short glandular hairs absent.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface green or yellowish, prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hairs sparse to dense, 0.1–0.7 mm apart, 0.3–0.6 mm diameter, stalks 0–0.1 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 short glandular hairs absent.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence leaf-opposed, solitary or cymose (pseudo-racemose), common peduncle absent or present, common peduncle 0–15 mm long, rachis prickles absent or present, 1–4-flowered, with one bisexual flower, the rest male or some bisexual and some male flowers. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 7–19 mm long, markedly thicker distally, 0.7–1 mm thick at mid-point, prickles absent or present. Calyx tube at anthesis 2–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate, 2–3.5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent or present, 0–10 per flower, 0.5–4 mm long. Calyx stellae dense, transparent, 0.3–0.4 mm across, stalks 0 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 short glandular hairs absent. Corolla purple, 10–17 mm long, rotate, inner surface glabrous. Anthers 4.6–5.5 mm long. Ovary with short glandular hairs only. Functional style 9–10 mm long, protruding between anthers, glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit or lobes more than half length of mature fruit, prickles absent or present, prickles 0.5–4 mm long. Mature fruits 1 per inflorescence, globular, 16–20 mm diameter, 2-locular, placenta sessile, semi-circular, interior juicy, succulent or moist but not juicy, pericarp 0.4–0.5 mm thick, pedicels 15–27 mm long, pedicels 0.9–1.2 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow, 2.5–3.7 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Qld: Cook, Kennedy North. Shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
Classification. Subg. Leptostemonum. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • fruits. • flowers and leaves. • flowering plant.
Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2012 onwards. Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia. Version: 25th January 2023. delta-intkey.com’.
