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Volume IV (1988) - Flora of New Zealand Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons
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Solanum L.

SOLANUM L.

Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or small trees, sometimes trailing or climbing, sometimes armed with straight or curved prickles, often foetid when bruised, generally hairy, the hairs simple, stellate, glandular, or sometimes much-branched with a central axis. Lvs simple or compound, nearly always alternate, ± petiolate. Infls terminal or apparently axillary, cymose or umbellate, 2-many-flowered (fls rarely solitary), often extra-axillary, sometimes lf-opposed. Calyx (4)-5-(10)-toothed, generally campanulate, persistent and often accrescent. Corolla 5-lobed, rotate or shallowly campanulate, plicate in bud, usually white to blue or purple, sometimes cream or yellow; limb often patent and star-shaped, the lobes eventually reflexing. Stamens 5, inserted on throat of corolla tube, usually exserted; anthers coherent and forming a conspicuous yellow cone around the style, dehiscing by apical pores or slits or longitudinal slits. Ovary 2-celled (to 6 in cultivated plants); stigma capitate or 2-fid. Fr. a berry, generally globose, succulent or rather leathery; stone cells (sclerotic granules) sometimes present. Seeds many, compressed, of moderate size, often reticulately pitted.

SYNOPSIS

The synopsis is based on partial treatments of the genus by D'Arcy, W. G., Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 59: 262-278 (1972), and by Symon, D. E., Jour. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 1-367 (1981).

  • A. Subgen. ARCHAEOSOLANUM. 
    • Plants not armed; hairs simple or glandular. Calyx moderately accrescent. Anthers stout and scarcely tapering at apex, opening by large terminal pores or slits.
    • 1. Sect. ARCHAEOSOLANUM. 
  • B. Subgen. BREVANTHERUM. 
    • Plants not armed; hairs simple, branched or stellate. Calyx scarcely accrescent. Anthers stout, usually not tapered at apex, mostly opening by large terminal pores.
    • 2. Sect. BREVANTHERUM. 
      • Hairs often stellate and forming a tomentum. Pseudostipules sometimes present. Infl. a condensed terminal or subterminal panicle; fls numerous. Fr. generally yellow or yellowish:
      • 9. * mauritianum
    • 3. Sect. HOLOPHYLLA. 
      • Hairs simple or dendroid. Pseudostipules sometimes present. Infl. mostly terminal (sometimes becoming lateral, axillary or lf-opposed), subumbellate, corymbose or paniculate; fls numerous. Fr. probably usually brown to black:
      • 3. * crispum
    • 4. Sect. PSEUDOCAPSICA. 
  • C. Subgen. LYCIANTHES. 
    • Plants not armed or rarely armed; hairs simple, branched or stellate. Calyx ± accrescent. Anthers slender, slightly tapered at apex, opening by small terminal pores.
    • 5. Sect. LYCIANTHES: 
  • D. Subgen. LEPTOSTEMONUM. 
    • Plants usually armed; hairs stellate, sessile or stalked, sometimes accompanied by simple bristles. Calyx variously accrescent. Anthers mostly slender, tapered to apex and opening by small terminal pores, occasionally stout and opening by terminal pores and longitudinal slits.
    • 6. Sect. ACANTHOPHORA. 
      • Moderately to heavily armed; hairs stellate, and simple. Calyx prickly, moderately accrescent, not enclosing fr. Corolla deeply lobed. Fr. yellow to red, sometimes blackish:
      • mammosum L.
    • 7. Sect. ANDROCERAS. 
      • Heavily armed; hairs dense and stellate, and glandular. Calyx prickly, accrescent, enclosing fr. Corolla shallowly lobed. Fr. often dark brown:
      • 14. * rostratum
    • 8. Sect. CRYPTOCARPUM. 
      • Heavily armed; hairs stellate, and sometimes with many glandular hairs. Calyx prickly, accrescent and partly enclosing fr. Corolla shallowly lobed. Fr. red:
      • 15. * sisymbrifolium
    • 9. Sect. MELONGENA. 
    • 10. Sect. OLIGANTHES. 
      • Sparsely to heavily armed; hairs stellate and often forming a tomentum. Calyx not prickly, not markedly accrescent, not enclosing fr. Corolla shallowly to deeply lobed. Fr. mostly yellowish:
      • 1. * carolinenseelaeagnifolium Cav.
  • E. Subgen. POTATOE. 
    • Plants not armed; hairs simple and often glandular, occasionally branched. Calyx not markedly accrescent. Anthers mostly stout and slightly tapered at apex, opening by large terminal pores.
    • 11. Sect. BASARTHRUM. 
      • Herbs or lianes, lacking tubers. Lvs imparipinnate, usually with interstitial leaflets. Corolla shallowly lobed. Fr. green, whitish or pale yellow, often with dark stripes:
      • muricatum Aiton
    • 12. Sect. DULCAMARA. 
      • Lianes or herbaceous climbers, lacking tubers. Lvs not lobed or deeply lobed, sometimes partly pinnate. Corolla deeply lobed. Fr. yellowish to red:
      • 5. * dulcamara
    • 13. Sect. JASMINOSOLANUM. 
      • Lianes or herbaceous climbers, lacking tubers. Lvs not lobed, pinnatisect, or imparipinnate, sometimes with interstitial leaflets. Corolla moderately to deeply lobed. Fr. red or ± black:
      • 6. * jasminoides
    • 14. Sect. PETOTA. 
      • Herbs or scrambling subshrubs, usually bearing tubers. Lvs mostly imparipinnate or deeply lobed, often with interstitial leaflets. Corolla shallowly lobed. Fr. often green:
      • 16. * tuberosum
  • F. Subgen. SOLANUM. 

Key

1
Plants not armed
2
Plants armed with prickles on stems, lvs and sometimes infl.
19
2
Herbs, shrubs, or sometimes small trees
3
Lianes or scramblers
17
3
Fls and frs solitary, less commonly in cymes of 2-4; corolla white; fr. orange or scarlet
4
Fls and frs few to many, in compact or diffuse and open cymes; corolla violet, mauve, purple, or white, if white then fr. usually mauve, purple, or violet, very rarely orange or scarlet
5
4
Plant with scattered or 0 hairs on young shoots and very young lvs, the older shoots and lvs usually glabrous; hairs few-branched or simple
12. *pseudocapsicum
Plant with dense hairs on young shoots and very young lvs, with ± scattered hairs on older shoots and lvs; hairs stellate
4. *diflorum
5
Lvs simple; fls 3-6-(10), in compact umbels, pseudoumbels, or racemes; corolla to 1.4 cm diam., white or tinged mauve; tubers or rhizomes 0
6
Lvs compound or simple; fls generally many, in compact or diffuse heads, the cymes sometimes in pseudoumbels of few fls; corolla usually > 1.5 cm diam., blue, violet, purple, or if white then rhizomes and tubers nearly always present
11
6
Plant clammy and viscid with glandular-hairs, or soft, greyish velvety-tomentose
7
Plant glabrous or, if hairy, then hairs not dense and plant not viscid
8
7
Plant clammy and viscid; fruiting calyx enlarged and partly enclosing fr.; fr. mottled pale green or yellowish green and deep green
11. *physalifolium
Plant soft and grey-tomentose; fruiting calyx not significantly enlarged; fr. dull purplish
2. *chenopodioides
8
Fls 5-8 mm diam., in umbels; anthers 1-1.6 mm long; fr. glossy black; calyx lobes strongly reflexed at fruiting
18. americanum
Fls 8-13 mm diam., in pseudoumbels with at least 1 fl. arising from below the main umbel or in forked umbels; anthers 1.7-2.8 mm long; fr. usually dull black or somewhat glossy, rarely green, yellowish or red; calyx lobes usually appressed to slightly reflexed at fruiting, or if reflexed then frs yellowish or reddish
9
9
Plants with simple and glandular hairs, especially on young parts; fr. orange-yellow or reddish
17. *villosum
Plants almost glabrous to fairly densely hairy with simple hairs, rarely glandular-hairy; fr. usually black, rarely green, yellowish green or pale yellow
10
10
Infl. a pseudoumbel; corolla 8-13 mm diam.; stone cells usually 0
10. *nigrum
Infl. a forked umbel; corolla c. 15 mm diam.; stone cells prominent
*furcatum ζ
11
Lvs compound, with broad leaflets; rhizomes and tubers present
16. *tuberosum
Lvs simple, entire, toothed or lobed; rhizomes and tubers 0
12
12
Lvs 10-25-(40) cm long, thick, stellate-tomentose, usually with 2 small stipule-like lvs at base of large lvs; fr. stellate-hairy
9. *mauritianum
Lvs large or small, without small lvs at base of main lvs, ± membranous, glabrous or if hairy then hairs not forming a dense stellate tomentum; fr. glabrous
13
13
Lf lamina usually 15-40 cm long, entire or with narrow lobes; fr. pendent, 2-3 cm diam., yellow or orange
14
Lf lamina < 16 cm long, entire or with 1-2-(4) broad basal lobes or leaflets; fr. not obviously pendent, c. 1 cm diam., usually red, sometimes yellow
15
14
Apex of corolla lobes emarginate; fr. yellow or pale orange, lacking persistent green cross at base; seeds 2.2 -2.5 mm long
20. laciniatum
Apex of corolla lobes acute; fr. orange, often with persistent green cross at base; seeds < 2 mm long
19. aviculare
15
Some lvs with 1-3-(4) basal lobes; corolla usually purple, rarely nearly white, 1-1.5 cm diam.
5. *dulcamara
All lvs entire or nearly so; corolla mauve, deep blue or violet-blue, 1.5-3 cm diam.
16
16
Hairs of shoots and lvs stellate; panicles of > 12 fls
3. *crispum
Hairs of shoots and lvs simple; cymes of < 5 fls
13. *rantonnei
17
Young shoots and lf undersides ± stellate-hairy; lvs all entire or nearly so; fr. yellow
3. *crispum
Shoots and lvs glabrous or if hairy then hairs simple, spreading or appressed; some lvs with 1-2-(4) basal lobes; fr. red, deep blue or black
18
18
Stems scrambling, usually < 3 m long; corolla purple, very rarely whitish; fr. red
5. *dulcamara
Stems lianoid, to c. 15 m long; corolla white, sometimes blue-tinged; fr. deep blue to nearly black
6. *jasminoides
19
Perennial with extensive root system suckering to produce aerial stems
1. *carolinense
Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes ± arborescent, lacking extensive root system with aerial shoots
20
20
Annual to 0.6 m tall; corolla yellow; fr. burr-like, with prickly calyx lobes completely enclosing frs
14. *rostratum
Perennials or shrubs usually 1-5 m tall or, if annual then > 0.6 m tall; corolla white, blue or violet; frs not burr-like, although calyx sometimes prickly
21
21
Lvs green beneath, deeply and irregularly lobed nearly to midrib
22
Lvs white or pale to rusty brown-tomentose beneath, shallowly lobed
23
22
Perennial subshrub; prickles pale to deep yellow; fr. yellow at maturity, 1.5-3.5 cm diam., not at all enveloped by calyx
7. *linnaeanum
Bushy annual; prickles orange-red; fr. red at maturity, 1-2 cm diam., the lower part loosely enclosed by calyx lobes
15. *sisymbrifolium
23
Branches white, wingless; lvs white beneath; fr. 2-6 cm diam., yellow
8. *marginatum
Branches brown, conspicuously winged; lvs deep or rusty brown beneath; fr. 1 -1.5 cm diam., orange
*robustum ζ

c. 1400 spp., very widespread, especially tropical and subtropical America. Native spp. 3, naturalised 19.

A number of spp. belonging to this very large genus are cultivated in N.Z. for their ornamental fls. Others are grown for their edible parts; 2 of these have become very popular recently in N.Z. but are not yet naturalised: S. melongena, egg plant or aubergine, and S. muricatum, pepino. In addition, others have been recently introduced for evaluation of their potentially useful alkaloids but have not yet run wild. Such compounds may be toxic and it is not surprising that the genus is one of those most often implicated in poisoning of human beings, especially children, who are attracted by the often colourful, fleshy fr. Several spp. have caused stock losses in N.Z. Connor (1977) reviewed the major poisonous spp. in N.Z.

Some Solanum spp., particularly some of the prickly members and several of the S. nigrum group, must have arrived accidentally amongst crop seed, packing materials, ballast and machinery, whereas the rest are presumably escapes from cultivation.

S. mammosum, batchelor's pear, a prickly shrubby sp. related to S. robustum, was reported to have escaped from cultivation in the Auckland and Waikato districts in 1870, but has not been found since and there are no specimens from wild plants. It may be distinguished from the other prickly solanums in N.Z. by the soft, simple hairs and the nipple-like protuberances on the yellow frs. From these spp., apart from S. robustum, it is also distinct in having no prickles on the infl. It has also been recorded as S. indicum in N.Z.

Fls of some Solanum spp. are illustrated in Fig. 116.

Fig. 116. Fls of Solanum. A S. americanum; B S. chenopodioides; C S. dulcamara; D S. jasminoides; E S. linnaeanum; F S. marginatum; G S. nigrum; H S. rantonnei; I S. tuberosum. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X3V]
Fig. 116. Fls of Solanum. A S. americanum; B S. chenopodioides; C S. dulcamara; D S. jasminoides; E S. linnaeanum; F S. marginatum; G S. nigrum; H S. rantonnei; I S. tuberosum. © All rights reserved. [Image: 4X3V]
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