Solanum Species of Eastern Australia
| Solanum Species of Eastern Australia | |
Habit and juveniles. Erect. Herbaceous resprouter. 0.3–0.8 m high. Juvenile branchlets with 10–30 prickles per dm. Juvenile branchlets prickles 2–7 mm long. Juvenile leaves lanceolate, or ovate; shallowly-lobed throughout, or deeply lobed throughout; with 1–3 pairs of lobes; lamina 6.5–13 cm long; lamina 3–8 cm wide; with 5–15 prickles on upper surface.
Branchlets. Adult branchlets grey, or rusty. Adult branchlets prickles present; 1–6 per decimetre; straight, acicular; 3–7 mm long; 7–9 times longer than wide; glabrous. Adult branchlets hairs stellate. Adult branchlets stellae very dense; 0.25–0.4 mm diameter; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 6–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray absent, or present; central ray 0–0.5 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped; thready.
Leaves. Adult leaves narrow lanceolate, or lanceolate; entire; lamina 7–10.5 cm long; lamina 0.9–1.7 cm wide; lamina 4.5–8.5 times longer than broad; apex acute; base obtuse; oblique part 1–3.5 mm long; obliqueness index 1–4 percent. Adult leaves petioles 0.7–2.2 cm long; 8–30 % length of lamina; prickles absent, or present.
Upper leaf surface. Upper leaf surface grey-green; prickles absent, or present on midvein only; prickles 0–7; prickles straight, acicular; prickles 1–6 mm long; stellate hairs distributed throughout; protostellae absent, or present; stellate hair density very sparse to moderate density. Upper leaf surface ordinary stellae 0.2–0.6 mm apart; 0.3–0.5 mm across; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 6–8; porrect; central ray 0–0.5 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, or present on midvein only; prickles 0–6; prickles straight, acicular. Lower leaf surface stellate hair density very dense. Lower leaf surface stellae c. 0.05 mm apart; 0.35–0.45 mm diameter; stalks 0 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; lateral rays porrect; central ray 0.5–1 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 absent, or present; common peduncle 0–5 mm long; rachis prickles absent; 3–8-flowered; weakly andromonoecious. Flowers 5-merous. Pedicels at anthesis 11–20 mm long; same thickness throughout; 0.7–0.9 mm thick at mid-point; prickles absent. Calyx tube at anthesis 2.5–4 mm long. Calyx lobes at anthesis deltate, or attenuate; 3–5 mm long. Calyx prickles at anthesis absent, or present; 0–2 per flower; 1–4 mm long. Calyx stellae dense; transparent; 0.3–0.45 mm across; stalks 0–0.1 mm long; lateral rays 7–8; central ray 0.5–1 times as long as laterals; central ray not gland-tipped. Calyx simple hairs absent. Calyx Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla purple; 9–15 mm long; rotate; inner surface sparsely stellate-hairy. Anthers 3.5–5.5 mm long. Ovary with stellate and Type 2 hairs. Functional style 8–12 mm long; erect; with stellate hairs only; stellae 0.3–0.4 mm across; stellae lateral rays 8–20; 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 1–3 per inflorescence; globular; 14–17 mm diameter; yellowish-green, or green, often streaked; 2-locular; placenta stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp 0.5 mm thick. Pedicels at fruiting stage 16–20 mm long; 1.3–1.6 mm thick at mid-point. Seeds white, or pale yellow; 2.6–3 mm long.
Distribution and habitat. Queensland, New South Wales. Moreton, Darling Downs, Burnett. North Coast (NC). Wet eucalypt forest with rainforest understorey, or rainforest margins, shrubby eucalypt woodland, remote from rainforest.
Miscellaneous. Data source: specimens.
Illustrations. • mature fruits. • flowering plant. • fruit.
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’.
