| | Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia |
Habit. Sprawling or erect. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.3–0.5 m high.
Branchlets. Branchlets brown or green. Branchlet prickles 30–70 per decimetre, straight and acicular, 6–10 mm long, 13–20 times longer than wide, glabrous or with scattered short glandular hairs on lower half. Branchlet hairs stellate. Branchlet stellate hairs dense, 0.25–0.6 mm diameter, stalks 0–0.2 mm long, lateral rays 4–7, lateral rays porrect, central ray 1–1.5 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped, thready.
Leaves. Leaves ovate or broadly ovate, 4.5–12.5 cm long, 3–7.5 cm wide, 1.6–1.9 times longer than broad, entire. Leaf apex obtuse or acute, base cuneate, oblique part 0–7 mm long, obliqueness index 0–7 percent. Petioles 0.6–2.8 cm long, 13–25% length of lamina, prickles present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green, prickles absent or present on midvein only or present on midvein and lateral veins, prickles 0–20, prickles straight and acicular, prickles 3–7 mm long. Upper leaf surface stellate hairs distributed throughout, protostellae absent, sparse, 0.4–1.7 mm apart, 0.3–0.7 mm across, stalks 0–0.15 mm long, lateral rays 5–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray 1–2 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 greenish-white, prickles absent or present on midvein only, prickles 0–1, prickles straight and acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hairs dense, 0.15–0.4 mm apart, 0.6–0.8 mm diameter, stalks 0–0.2 mm long, lateral rays 5–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray 1–1.5 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 supra-axillary, solitary or cymose (pseudo-racemose), common peduncle 1.5–4 mm long, rachis prickles present, 1–3-flowered, with one bisexual flower, the rest male. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 8–13 mm long, same thickness throughout, 0.9–1.1 mm thick at mid-point, prickles absent or present. Calyx tube at anthesis 3–5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis attenuate, 4–6 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae dense, white, 0.25–0.4 mm across, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 5–8, central ray 1–1.5 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx short glandular hairs present. Corolla mauve, 7–11 mm long, shallowly lobed, inner surface sparsely stellate-hairy. Anthers 4–5 mm long. Ovary with stellate and short glandular hairs. Functional style 5–6 mm long, protruding between anthers, with stellate and short glandular hairs, stellae c. 0.25 mm across, stellae lateral rays 6–8, stellae central ray 1–1.5 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, 16–19 mm diameter, yellowish-green or green, often streaked, interior moist but not juicy, pericarp 0.8–1 mm thick, pedicels 10–24 mm long, pedicels 1.1–2 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow, 2–2.3 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland. Qld: Maranoa, Leichhardt, Warrego. Semi-evergreen vine thicket or brigalow/belah.
Classification. Subg. Leptostemonum. Data source: specimens.
Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2012 onwards. Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia. Version: 25th January 2023. delta-intkey.com’.