| | Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia |
Habit. Prostrate or sprawling. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.1–0.4 m high.
Branchlets. Branchlets white or grey or brown or green. Branchlet prickles 28–80 per decimetre, straight and acicular, 2–13 mm long, 10–14 times longer than wide, glabrous. Branchlet hairs stellate. Branchlet stellate hairs absent or sparse to moderate, 0.25–0.3 mm diameter, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 5–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray 0.2–0.7 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped. Branchlet short glandular hairs absent.
Leaves. Leaves elliptical, 3.8–9.4 cm long, 1.5–4.4 cm wide, 2.1–3.1 times longer than broad, shallowly lobed throughout or deeply lobed throughout, lobes 4–6 on each side, lobes acute, lobing index 1.6–3.1. Leaf apex acute, base cuneate or obtuse, oblique part 2–9 mm long, obliqueness index 4–16 percent. Petioles 0.6–1.9 cm long, 16–26% length of lamina, prickles present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green, prickles present on midvein and lateral veins, prickles 22–82, prickles straight and acicular, prickles 1–11 mm long. Upper leaf surface stellate hairs absent or distributed throughout, protostellae absent, absent from surface or very sparse, 0.6–2.2 mm apart, 0.2–0.3 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, prickles present on midvein and lateral veins, prickles 28–80, prickles straight and acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hairs absent or very sparse, 0.7–3 mm apart, 0.25–0.35 mm diameter, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 5–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray 0.4–1 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 supra-axillary, solitary or sessile (rachis very short or absent) or cymose (pseudo-racemose), common peduncle absent or present, common peduncle 0–6 mm long, rachis prickles absent or present, 1–3-flowered, with all flowers bisexual. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 12–21 mm long, same thickness throughout, prickles present. Calyx tube at anthesis 2–2.5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate or attenuate, 2.5–3 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis present, 26–48 per flower, 3–8 mm long. Calyx stellae very sparse to sparse, white or transparent, 0.2–0.3 mm across, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 5–7, central ray 0.5–0.8 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx short glandular hairs absent. Corolla purple, 10–14 mm long, rotate or shallowly lobed, inner surface glabrous. Anthers 2.5–3.1 mm long. Ovary with short glandular hairs only. Functional style 5.8–7 mm long, strongly bent near base, not touching anthers, glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit, prickles 2–6 mm long. Mature fruits 1–2 per inflorescence, globular, 16–20 mm diameter, green, often streaked, interior moist but not juicy, pedicels 20–27 mm long, pedicels 1 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow, 2.4–2.7 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria. Qld: Darling Downs. NSW: North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast, Central Tablelands. Wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
Classification. Subg. Leptostemonum. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • young fruit. • leaves.
Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2012 onwards. Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia. Version: 25th January 2023. delta-intkey.com’.
