Solanaceae Source

A global taxonomic resource for the nightshade family

Revision of Identification keys from Thu, 2020-09-17 12:08

The Identification Keys


Genera of Solanaceae (in construction!)  


Solanum  


These electronic multi-access keys to Solanum were constructed by the Solanum Key Consortium (led by Rebecca Hilgenhof) in 2020.  The identification key runs on Xper3 software, which allows the building of structured knowledge bases and online free-access keys. 

  • Contributors to the Solanum Key Consortium (in aphabetical order by surname) - Xavier Aubriot, Lynn Bohs, Thamyris Bragioni, Rocío Deanna, Edeline Gagnon, Leandro Giacomin, Yuri Gouvêa, Rebecca Hilgenhof, Péter Poczai, Tiina Särkinen, Stacey Smith, João R. Stehmann

For a quick pdf guide to how to use the key click here. For some images of herbarium specimens to test how the Xper3 multi-access key works click here. We advise testing the key with these known specimens first - it helps!

Please use the following to cite these keys -

For how to cite Solanaceae Source click here


Keys to the groups (clades or single species that have no close relatives) of Solanum

Global multi-access key to all groups of Solanum

  • Use this Xper3 key to find out the group your plant or specimen belongs to and find the right species-level key to use

Keys to Solanum species

Thelopodium and Clade I global multi-access key

  • This Xper3 key covers non-spiny species only; if you have a spiny specimen, see the guide to previously publihsed dichotomous species-level keys below (listed by group in alphabetical order).
  • Includes species of the wild tomato (Tomato group), wild Potato (Petota group), African Non-Spiny, Anarrhichomenum, Archaeosolanum, Articulatum, Basarthrum, Dulcamaroid, Etuberosum, Herpystichum, Morelloid, Normania, Oxycoccoides, Pteroidea, Regmandra, Valdiviense, and Thelopodium clades
  • Focuses on characters available on your specimen
  • Choose multiple options per character
  • Learn to use characters with our Quick guide [hyperlink to pdf file] to keys and Practise specimens [hyperlink to pdf file] to tune your eye
  • Key characters: Geography, Prickles, Fruit & corolla colour, Pedicel articulation & base, Pseudostipules, Pairing of leaves, Leaf type & margin


Published dichotomous keys to groups of Solanum species (alphabetical order)

Group names come largely from the phylogenetic framework of the family Solanaceae published in Särkinen et al. (2013), with additional groups as revealed in ongoing phylogenetic analyses of Solanum as a whole with larger sampling.  


African Solanum (all species, native and introduced)

  • Knapp et al. (2019) Dichotomous keys to the species of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in continental Africa, Madagascar (incl. the Indian Ocean islands), Macaronesia and the Cape Verde Islands. PhytoKeys 127: 39-76.

Acanthophora group 

  • Global key: under construction by Franco Chiarini and Sandy Knapp.
  • Overview: Levin et al. (2005) A four-gene study of evolutionary relationships in Solanum section Acanthophora. American Journal of Botany 92: 603-612. 
  • Key to species with flattened or winged seeds from Brazil and Argentina: Chiarini & Mentz (2012) A new species of Solanum sect. Acanthophora (Solanaceae) from Argentina and Brazil. PhytoKeys 18: 1-10.

African Non-Spiny group 

  • Included in the Global multi-access key to Thelopodium & Clade I
  • Global key: Knapp & Vorontsova (2016) A revision of the “African Non-Spiny” Clade of Solanum L. (Solanum sections Afrosolanum Bitter, Benderianum Bitter, Lemurisolanum Bitter, Lyciosolanum Bitter, Macronesiotes Bitter, and Quadrangulare Bitter: Solanaceae). PhytoKeys 66: 1–142.

Allophyllum group


Anarrhichomenum group


Androceras group

  • Global key: Stern et al. (2014) New species and combinations in Solanum section Androceras (Solanaceae). Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 8: 1-7. 

Anomalostemon group

  • The "group" currently consists of a single species: Knapp & Nee (2009) Solanum anomalostemon (Solanaceae), an endangered new species from southern Peru with unusal anther morphology. Novon 19: 178-181.


Archaeosolanum group


Articulatum group


Asterophorum group


Bahamense group

  • Global key: Strickland-Constable et al. (2010) Species identity in the Solanum bahamense species group (Solanaceae, Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum). Taxon 59: 209-226. 

Basarthrum group

  • Included in the Global multi-access key to Thelopodium & Clade I
  • Global key: not yet under construction, the group is not being actively worked on. Recent material collected in Peru indicates there are new species remaining to be described in this group.
  • Overview: Tepe et al. (2016). Relationships among wild relatives of the tomato, potato, and pepino. Taxon 65: 262-276.
  • Small key to some species: Anderson (1975) The variation and evolution of selected species of Solanum section Basarthrum. Brittonia 27: 209-222.

Brevantherum group

  • Global key: under construction by Leandro Giacomin.
  • Overview: Roe (2072). A revision of Solanum section Brevantherum (Solanaceae). Brittonia 24: 239-278. 

Campechiense group

  • The "group" currently consists of a single species (S. campechiense)
  • Overview: Stern et al. (2011) Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the ‘spiny solanums’ (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum). Taxon 60: 1429-1441.

Carolinense group


Crinitum group

  • Global key: under construction by Frank Farrugia.
  • Key to extra-Amazonian Brazilian species: Gouvea et al. (2019) Solanum medusa (Solanaceae), a new wolf-fruit from Brazil, and a key to the extra-Amazonian Brazilian Androceras/Crinitum clade species. PhytoKeys 118: 15-32
  • Key to Andean species: Farrugia & Bohs (2010) Two new South American species of Solanum section Crinitum (Solanaceae). PhytoKeys 1: 67-77.

Cyphomandra (Pachyphylla) group


Cyphomandropsis group


Dulcamaroid group


Elaeagnifolium group

  • Global key: Knapp et al. (2017) A revision of the Solanum elaeagnifolium clade (Elaeagnifolium clade; subgenus Leptostemonum, Solanaceae). PhytoKeys 84: 1-104. 

Erythrotrichum group

  • Global key: Agra (2008) Four new species of Solanum section Erythrotrichum (Solanaceae) from Brazil and Peru, and a key to the species of the section. Systematic Botany 33: 556-565.
  • Overview: Agra (2004) Sinopse taxonômica de Solanum sect. Erythrotrichum (Solanaceae). Pp. 192–211 in: Rangel-C, Aguirre, Andrade-C & Cañas (eds.), Memorias Octavo Congresso Latinoamericano e Segundo Colombiano de Botánica. Bogotá: Universidad Nacional de Colombia. 

Etuberosum group

  • Included in the Global multi-access key to Thelopodium & Clade I
  • Global key: Contreras-M & Spooner et al. (1999) Revision of Solanum section Etuberosum (subgenus Potatoe). In Nee, Symon, Lester & Jessop (eds.), Solanaceae IV, pp. 227-245. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 
  • Global key (updated): Spooner et al. (2017) Taxonomy of wild potatoes and their relatives in southern South America (Solanum sects. Petota and Etuberosum). Systematic Botany Monographs 100: 1-236. 

Euacanthum group

  • The "group" currently consists of a single species (S. euacanthum)

Gardneri group

  • Global key: under construction.
  • Overview: Stern et al. (2011) Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the ‘spiny solanums’ (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum). Taxon 60: 1429-1441. . 

Geminata group

  • Global key: Knapp (2008) A revision of the Solanum havanense species group and new taxonomic additions to the Geminata clade (Solanum, Solanaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95: 405-458. 
  • Key to Brazilian species: Knapp et al. (2015) New species, additions and a key to the Brazilian species of the Geminata clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in Brazil. PhytoKeys 47: 1-48.

Gonatotrichum group


Herpystichum group


Inornatum group

  • Global key: Giacomin et al. (2014) Three new species of Solanum (Brevantherum clade) endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. PhytoKeys 38: 69-87.

Lasiocarpa group

  • Global key: Whalen et al. (1981) Taxonomy of Solanum section Lasiocarpa. Gentes Herbarum 12: 41-129.

Old World Leptostemonum group

  • Overview: Whalen (1984) Conspectus of species groups in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. Gentes Herbarum 12: 179-282. 
  • Key to African and Malagasy species: Vorontsova & Knapp (2016) A revision of the ‘Spiny Solanums’, Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum (Solanaceae), in Africa and Madagascar. Systematic Botany Monographs 100: 1-432. 
  • Key to Australian species: Symon (1981) A revision of the genus Solanum in Australia. Journal of Adelaide Botanical Gardens 4: 1-367.
  • Key to Queensland species: Bean (2004) The taxonomy and ecology of Solanum subg. Leptostemonum (Dunal) Bitter (Solanaceae) in Queensland and far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Austrobaileya 6: 639-816.
  • Key to New Guinean species: Symon (1985) The Solanaceae of New Guinea. Journal of Adelaide Botanical Gardens 8: 1-171.
  • Key to Eggplant clade: Knapp et al. (2013) Wild relatives of the eggplant (Solanum melongena L.: Solanaceae): New understanding of species names in a Complex Group. PLoS ONE 8: e57039.
  • Key to Echinatum clade: Bean (2012) A taxonomic revision of the Solanum echinatum group (Solanaceae). Phytotaxa 57: 33-50.
  • Key to Asian species: under construction by Xavier Aubriot and Sandy Knapp, see overview in Aubriot et al. (2016) Tropical Asian species show that the Old World ‘spiny solanums’ (Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum pro parte: Solanaceae) is not monophyletic. Botanical Journal of Linnean Society 181: 199-223.
  • Revision of Petrophilum complex with recently described species: Bean (2016) The Solanum petrophilum complex (Solanaceae) revised, with the description of three new species. Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 29: 23-36.

Morelloid group

  • Included in the Global multi-access key to Thelopodium & Clade I
  • Key to Old World: Särkinen et al. (2018) A revision of the Old World Black Nightshades (Morelloid clade of Solanum L., Solanaceae). PhytoKeys 106: 1-223.
  • Key to North and Central America and the Caribbean: Knapp et al. (2019) A revision of the Morelloid Clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in North and Central America and the Caribbean. PhytoKeys 123: 1-144.
  • Key to Argentina: Barboza et al. (2013) Solanum Grupo VII. Moreloide. In: Barboza (coord.), Flora Argentina: Flora vascular de la Republica Argentina, Vol. 13, pp. 231–264. San Isidro: Instituto de Botanica Darwinion.
  • Overview: Särkinen et al. (2015) True Black nightshades: Phylogeny and delimitation of the Morelloid clade of Solanum. Taxon 64: 945-958.

Multispinum group

  • The "group" currently consists of a single species (S. multispinum)
  • Overview: Stern et al. (2011) Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the ‘spiny solanums’ (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum). Taxon 60: 1429-1441.


Nemorense group


Normania group


Oxycoccoides group

  • The "group" currently consists of a single species and has been treated as part of a larger work on the Potato clade: Tepe et al. (2016). Relationships among wild relatives of the tomato, potato, and pepino. Taxon 65: 262-276. 

Petota group

  • Included in the Global multi-access key to Thelopodium & Clade I
  • Overview: Spooner et al. (2014) Systematics, diversity, genetics, and evolution of wild and cultivated Potatoes. Botanical Review 80: 283-383.
  • Key to the cultivated species: Ovchinnikova et al. (2011) Taxonomy of cultivated potatoes (Solanum section Petota: Solanaceae). Botanical Journal of hte Linnean Society 165: 107-155.
  • Key to southern South America: Spooner et al. (2016) Taxonomy of wild potatoes and their relatives in southern South America (Solanum sects. Petota and Etuberosum). Systematic Botany Monographs 100: 1-238. 
  • Key to northern South America: Spooner & Jansky (2019) Taxonomy of wild potatoes in northern South America (Solanum section Petota). Systematic Botany Monographs 108: 1-305. 
  • Key to North & Central America: Spooner et al. (2004) Wild potatoes (Solanum section Petota: Solanaceae) of North and Central America. Systematic Botany Monographs 68: 1-209. 

Polygamum group

  • The "group" currently consists of a single species (S. polygamum)
  • Overview: Stern et al. (2011) Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the ‘spiny solanums’ (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum). Taxon 60: 1429-1441.

Pteroidea group


Reductum group

  • The group currently consists of two species, one of which (S. delitescens) was previously treated as belonging the Geninata clade by  Knapp (2008) A revision of the Solanum havanense species group and new taxonomic additions to the Geminata clade (Solanum, Solanaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95: 405-458.

Regmandra group


Thelopodium group


Thomasiifolium group

  • Global key: under construction by Yuri Gouvea.
  • Overview: Stern et al. (2011) Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the ‘spiny solanums’ (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum). Taxon 60: 1429-1441.

Tomato group

  • Included in the Global multi-access key to Thelopodium & Clade I
  • Global key: Peralta et al. (2008) Taxonomy of wild tomatoes and their relatives (Solanum sect. Lycopersicoides, sect. Juglandifolia, sect. Lycopersicon; Solanaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs 84: 1-192. 

Trachytrichium group

  • Two woody species from Brazil, related to the Geinanta group (Giacomin, in prep.)
  • Previously in part (S. trachytrichium) treated as part of the Geminata group: Knapp (2008) A revision of the Solanum havanense species group and new taxonomic additions to the Geminata clade (Solanum, Solanaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95: 405-458.

Valdiviense group


Wendlandii group

  • Global key: Clark et al. (2015) A Revision of Solanum section Aculeigerum (the Solanum wendlandii group, Solanaceae). Systematic Botany 40: 1102-1136. 
  • Overview: Whalen (1984) Conspectus of species groups in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. Gentes Herbarum 12: 179-282.

 


Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith