Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Sprawling, or erect. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.1–0.4 m high. Juvenile stage absent.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets terete, or ridged; grey, or brown. Adult branchlets prickles absent, or present; 0–100 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 1–4 mm long; 8–12 times longer than wide; glabrous, or with scattered stellate hairs on lower half. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae very dense; 0.7–0.9 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.2 mm long; lateral rays 8–12; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.3–1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; thready.
Leaves. Adult leaves linear, or narrow lanceolate, or lanceolate; entire, or shallowly lobed throughout; lobes 0 on each side, or 3–5 on each side; lobes obtuse; lobing index 1–1.1; lamina 3–10 cm long; lamina 0.7–1.4 cm wide; lamina 3.8–14 times longer than broad; apex obtuse, or acute; base cuneate or attenuate; oblique part 0–2 mm long; obliqueness index 0–4 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.4–1.4 cm long; 13–20 % length of lamina; prickles absent, or present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface grey-green, or grey; prickles absent; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae absent, or present; stellate hair density moderate density to very dense. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.05–0.4 mm apart; 0.4–0.7 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 6–12; 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 Type 2 hairs absent.
Lower leaf surface. Lower leaf surface white, or yellowish; prickles absent. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density dense to very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae 0.05–0.4 mm apart; 0.5–0.8 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 8–14; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.3–1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Lower leaf surface simple hairs absent. Lower leaf surface Type 2 hairs absent.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence supra-axillary; cymose (pseudo-racemose); common peduncle 14–36 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 3–6-flowered; with all flowers bisexual. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 5–9 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.6–0.7 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 2–3 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis rostrate, or attenuate; 2–3.5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent, or present; 0–3 per flower; 0.5–1 mm long. Calyx stellae very dense; yellow, or white, or brown or rusty; 0.5–0.7 mm across; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 6–9; central ray 0.3–1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla mauve, or purple; 8–13 mm long; shallowly lobed; inner surface glabrous. Anthers 3.5–5 mm long. Ovary glabrous, or with stellate hairs only. Functional style 6–7 mm long; erect; glabrous, or with stellate hairs only; stellae 0.5–0.7 mm across; stellae lateral rays 6–8; stellae central ray 0.7–1 times as long as laterals.
Fruits. Fruiting calyx lobes less than half length of mature fruit; prickles absent, or present; prickles 1–1.5 mm long. Mature fruits 1–4 per inflorescence; globular, or ellipsoidal or ovoid; 12–15 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; glabrous, or with a few scattered stellate hairs; 2-locular; placenta stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 1–1.3 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 7–20 mm long; 0.9–1.1 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds pale yellow; 3–4.2 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria. Darling Downs, Maranoa, Leichhardt, Warrego, Port Curtis, Mitchell, Gregory South, Gregory North, South Kennedy, North Kennedy, Burke. North-western slopes (NWS), Central western slopes (CWS), South western slopes (SWS), North western Plains (NWP), South western Plains (SWP), North far western Plains (NFWP), South Far Western Plains (SFWP). Semi-evergreen vine thicket or brigalow/belah, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest, grassland or open woodland on cracking clays, shrublands in arid zone.
Miscellaneous. Common name: Quena. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • plant. • colony of flowering plants.
The interactive key provides access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting specified attributes, and summaries of attributes within groups of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Bean, A.R. 2005 onwards. Solanum species of Eastern Australia. Version: 8th October 2006. http://delta-intkey.com’.
