| | Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia |
Habit. Prostrate or sprawling or erect. Perennial vine. Large stems prickles absent.
Branchlets. Branchlet prickles absent. Branchlet hairs short glandular or simple or absent. Branchlet stellate hairs absent. Branchlet simple hairs absent or antrorse, curved, short glandular hairs absent or sparse.
Leaves. Leaves ovate or broadly ovate, 5.5–13 cm long, 5–11 cm wide, deeply lobed throughout or pinnate (some or all lobes dissected to the midrib), lobes 2–4 on each side, lobes acute or obtuse, lobing index 6–60. Leaf apex obtuse or acute, base cuneate. Petioles 2–4 cm long, prickles absent.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface green, prickles absent. Upper leaf surface stellate hairs absent, absent from surface. Upper leaf surface simple hairs antrorse, curved, very sparse or confined to major veins, not gland-tipped. Upper leaf surface short glandular hairs absent or present throughout.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface green, prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hairs absent. Lower leaf surface simple hairs antrorse, curved, very sparse or confined to major veins, not gland-tipped. Lower leaf surface short glandular hairs present only on veins or present throughout.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence leaf-opposed, branched (paniculate to corymbose), rachis prickles absent, 10–50-flowered, with all flowers bisexual. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 1–1.5 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate, 0.3–0.5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent. Calyx stellae absent. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx short glandular hairs absent. Corolla purple, 10–15 mm long, deeply lobed. Anthers 3–4 mm long. Ovary glabrous or with short glandular hairs only. Functional style 6.5–8 mm long, protruding between anthers, glabrous.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit, prickles absent. Mature fruits 10–50 per inflorescence, globular, 9–12 mm diameter, red, shiny, pedicels 10–15 mm long. Seeds black, 2–3 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia. Qld: Moreton, Darling Downs, Wide Bay, Burnett, Cook, Leichhardt, Warrego, Port Curtis, Kennedy South, Kennedy North. NSW: North Coast, Central Coast. Evergreen notophyll rainforest (no eucalypts), wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins, semi-evergreen vine thicket or brigalow/belah.
Classification. Naturalised. Subg. Potatoe. Common name: Brazilian Nightshade. Data source: Symon 1981, specimens.
Illustrations. • ripe fruits. • flowers. • leaves and flowers.
Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2012 onwards. Solanum species of eastern and northern Australia. Version: 25th January 2023. delta-intkey.com’.
