Solanum exhibits great morphological and reproductive diversity and many species of the genus have been used as model organisms for the examination of many biological questions. Some examples of these include investigations of the developmental evolution of leaf shape (Sinha, 1997; Bharathan et al., 2002), fruit morphology and chemistry (Cipollini et al., 2002; Knapp, 1986), a wide variety of floral syndromes including zygomorphy and heterandry (Knapp, 2002a), derived reproductive systems such as andromonoecy and dioecy (Whalen & Costich, 1986; Anderson & Symon, 1989; Knapp et al., 1998), and the evolution of plant form, self-incompatibility, and polyploidy (e.g., Bell & Dines, 1995; Stone, 2002; Richman & Kohn, 2000). Plant-animal interactions including studies of pollination and dispersal biology as well as herbivory (particularly ithomiine butterfly larvae, which are specialist herbivores on Solanaceae) have been documented in many studies, such as Knapp (1986) and Sazima et al. (1993) for pollination biology; Symon (1979), Tamboia et al. (1996), and Knapp (2002b) for fruit morphology and dispersal; and Drummond (1986), Brown (1987), and Drummond & Brown (1987) for the relationship between Solanaceae and ithomiine herbivores.
The poricidally dehiscent anthers of nearly all Solanum species make this genus an examplar of the buzz pollination syndrome, found in about 200 genera of flowering plants (Buchmann, 1983). In these flowers, nectar is absent and pollen is the sole floral reward. However, at least one group, Solanum section Pachyphylla, exhibits the male euglossine syndrome in which floral osmophores secrete scents that are gathered by male "orchid" bees (Sazima et al., 1993).
Buzz-pollination of Solanum huaylasense Peralta in Peru
References
Anderson, G. J., and D. E. Symon (1989) Functional dioecy and andromonoecy in Solanum. Evolution 43: 204-219.
Bell, A. D., and T. D. Dines (1995) Branching patterns in the Solanaceae. P. C. Hoch and A. G. Stephenson (eds.), Experimental and molecular approaches to plant biosystematics. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO. Pages 157-171.
Bharathan, G., T. E. Goliber, C. Moore, S. Kessler, T. Pham, and N. R. Sinha (2002) Homologies in leaf form inferred from KNOXI gene expression during development. Science 296: 1858-1860.
Brown, K. S., Jr. (1987) Chemistry at the Solanaceae/Ithomiinae interface. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 74: 359-397.
Buchmann, S. L. (1983) Buzz pollination in angiosperms. Pages 73-133 in C. E. Jones & R. J. Little (eds.), Handbook of experimental pollination biology. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., Inc., New York.
Cipollini, M. L., L. A. Bohs, K. Mink, E. Paulk, and K. Böhning-Gaese (2002) Patterns of secondary compounds within fleshy fruits: ecology and phylogeny. D. J. Levey, W. R. Silva, and M. Galetti (eds.), Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: ecology, evolution and conservation. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK. Pages 111-128.
Drummond, B. A., III. (1986) Coevolution of Ithomiine butterflies and solanaceous plants. Pages 307-327 in W. G. D’Arcy (ed.), Solanaceae: biology and systematics. Columbia University Press, New York.
Drummond, B. A., III, and K. S. Brown, Jr. (1987) Ithomiinae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): summary of known larval food plants. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 74: 341-358.
Knapp, S. (1986) Reproductive biology of Solanum section Geminata in a Costa Rican cloud forest. W. G. D’Arcy (ed.), Solanaceae: biology and systematics. Columbia University Press, New York. Pages 253-263.
Knapp, S., V. Persson, and S. Blackmore (1998) Pollen morphology and functional dioecy in Solanum (Solanaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 210: 113-139.
Knapp, S. (2002a) Floral diversity and evolution in the Solanaceae. Page 267-297 in Q. C. B. Cronk, R. M. Bateman, and J. A. Hawkins (eds.), Developmental genetics and plant evolution. Taylor and Francis, London.
Knapp, S. (2002b) Tobacco to tomatoes: a phylogenetic perspective on fruit diversity in the Solanaceae. Journal of Experimental Botany 53: 2001-2022.
Knapp, S. (2002c) Solanum Section Geminata (G. Don) Walpers (Solanaceae). Flora Neotropica Monograph 84: 1-405.
Richman, A. D., and J. R. Kohn (2000) Evolutionary genetics of self-incompatibility in the Solanaceae. Plant Molecular Biology 42: 169-179.
Sazima, M., S. Vogel, A. Cocucci, and G. Hauser (1993) The perfume flowers of Cyphomandra (Solanaceae): pollination by euglossine bees, bellows mechanism, osmophores, and volatiles. Pl. Syst. Evol. 187: 51-88.
Sinha, N. (1997) Simple and compound leaves: reduction or multiplication? Trends in Plant Science 2: 396-402.
Stone, J. L. (2002) Molecular mechanisms underlying the breakdown of gametophytic self-incompatibility. Quarterly Review of Biology 77: 17-32.
Symon, D. E. (1979) Sex forms in Solanum (Solanaceae) and the role of pollen collecting insects. J. G. Hawkes, R. N. Lester, and A. D. Skelding (eds.), The biology and taxonomy of the Solanaceae. Academic Press, London. Pages 385-397.
Tamboia, T., M. L. Cipollini, and D. J. Levey (1996) An evaluation of vertebrate seed dispersal syndromes in four species of black nightshade (Solanum sect. Solanum). Oecologia 107: 522-532.
Whalen, M. D., and D. E. Costich (1986) Andromonoecy in Solanum. W. G. D’Arcy (ed.), Solanaceae: biology and systematics. Columbia University Press, New York. Pages 284-302.