| | Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia |
Habit. Prostrate or sprawling. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.1–0.4 m high.
Branchlets. Branchlets rusty or brown or green. Branchlet prickles 10–50 per decimetre, straight and acicular, 5–10 mm long, 13–16 times longer than wide, glabrous. Branchlet hairs stellate. Branchlet stellate hairs sparse to moderate to dense, 0.25–0.6 mm diameter, stalks 0–0.2 mm long, lateral rays 5–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray 0.2–1.3 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped. Branchlet short glandular hairs absent.
Leaves. Leaves elliptical or ovate, 2.8–11.6 cm long, 1.5–6.1 cm wide, 1.6–2.3 times longer than broad, shallowly lobed throughout or deeply lobed throughout, lobes 3–5 on each side, lobes acute or obtuse, lobing index 1.3–3.1. Leaf apex acute, base cuneate or obtuse, oblique part 0–2.5 mm long, obliqueness index 0–9 percent. Petioles 0.75–2.4 cm long, 16–44% length of lamina, prickles absent or present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green, prickles present on midvein and lateral veins, prickles 13–49, prickles straight and acicular, prickles 1.5–8 mm long. Upper leaf surface stellate hairs distributed throughout, protostellae absent, very sparse or sparse or moderate density, 0.3–0.8 mm apart, 0.4–0.5 mm across, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 4–6, lateral rays porrect, central ray 0.9–2 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 green, prickles present on midvein only or present on midvein and lateral veins, prickles 1–23, prickles straight and acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hairs very sparse or sparse or moderate, 0.3–0.8 mm apart, 0.3–0.7 mm diameter, stalks 0 mm long, lateral rays 4–8, lateral rays porrect, central ray 0.8–1.5 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 sessile (rachis very short or absent), common peduncle absent, 1–2-flowered, with all flowers bisexual. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 13–25 mm long, same thickness throughout, 0.4–0.6 mm thick at mid-point, prickles absent or present. Calyx tube at anthesis 2–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate or attenuate, 2–5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis present, 12–24 per flower, 0.5–3 mm long. Calyx stellae very sparse to sparse, transparent or purple, 0.25–0.4 mm across, stalks 0–0.1 mm long, lateral rays 4–6, central ray 0.8–1.3 times as long as laterals, central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx short glandular hairs absent. Corolla purple, 12–16 mm long, rotate or shallowly lobed, inner surface glabrous. Anthers 3.5–4.8 mm long. Ovary with short glandular hairs only. Functional style 7.3–10 mm long, strongly bent near base, not touching anthers, glabrous or with short glandular hairs only.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit, prickles 2.5–4.5 mm long. Mature fruits 1–2 per inflorescence, globular, 15–20 mm diameter, green, often streaked, 1-locular (septum absent or incomplete), placenta stalked, anvil-shaped, interior moist but not juicy, pericarp 0.9–1 mm thick, pedicels 27–38 mm long, pedicels 1 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow, 2.6–3.1 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. New South Wales, Victoria. NSW: Central Coast, South Coast. Wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
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’.