Solanaceae

Solanum lythrocarpum

Citation author:

A.R. Bean

Citation:

Austrobaileya 6 (4): 706. 2004.

Type:

Australia. Queensland: Burnett District, east of Scrubby Dam, Coominglah State Forest, near Monto, 11 December 1998, A.R. Bean 14430 (holotype, BRI [1 sheet + spirit]; isotypes, AD, MEL, NSW).

Last edited by:

Bohs, L.

Written by:

A.R. Bean

Habit:

Erect, rhizomatous perennial shrub, 0.3-0.9 m tall. Juvenile stage unknown. Stems brown, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, the stellae 0.2-0.3 mm in diameter, the stalks 0-0.1 mm long, the lateral rays 4-8, porrect, the midpoints 0.5-1.5 times as long as lateral rays, eglandular; finger hairs absent; very short, gland-tipped hairs sparse to dense; prickles present or absent, straight, acicular, 0.5-5 mm long, 7-10 times longer than wide, 0-6 per dm on adult branches.

Sympodial structure:

Sympodial units plurifoliate, not geminate.

Leaves:

Leaves simple, the blades 5-9.5 x 1.1-1.5 cm, 4.7-7 times as long as wide, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, chartaceous, green and glabrous to sparsely stellate-pubescent adaxially, the hairs confined to midrib; finger hairs absent; very short, gland-tipped hairs present throughout, 0.1-0.5 mm apart; prickles present on midvein only, 0-4, straight, acicular, 3-7 mm long; green and glabrous abaxially; finger hairs absent; very short, gland-tipped hairs absent; prickles absent or present on midvein only, 0-3, straight, acicular; base cuneate, the oblique part 0-2.5 mm long; margin entire; apex acute; petioles 0.9-2.1 cm long, 11-23% length of lamina, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, prickles present or absent.

Inflorescences:

Inflorescence 0.5-2 cm, leaf-opposed, unbranched, pseudo-racemose, with 3-8 flowers, with all flowers perfect, the axes glabrous to moderately glandular-puberulent, unarmed; peduncle 0-2 cm; rachis 0.1-0.5 cm; pedicels 9-24 mm long in flower, 0.4-0.7 mm thick at midpoint, the same thickness throughout or markedly thicker distally,18-24 mm long in fruit, 0.6-0.8 mm thick at mid-point, spaced 1-10 mm apart, articulated at the base.

Flowers:

Flowers all perfect, 4- or 5-merous. Calyx 4-7.5 mm, the tube 1.5-2.5 mm long, the lobes 2-6 mm long, attenuate, glabrous to sparsely stellate-pubescent, the hairs white, 0.15-0.3 mm across, sessile, the lateral rays 4-8, the midpoints 0-1 times as long as lateral rays, eglandular; finger hairs absent; very short, gland-tipped hairs present; prickles absent; fruiting calyx not accrescent, less than half length of mature fruit, unarmed. Corolla ca. 1 cm in diameter, 7-11 mm long, stellate to rotate-stellate, chartaceous, purple, the tube 2-3 mm, the lobes 3-8 x 1.5-2 mm, narrowly triangular, abaxially glabrous at base of lobes, pubescent toward tips with unbranched and stellate hairs, glabrous adaxially. Stamens with filaments 0.5-1 mm; anthers 3-5 x 1-1.5 mm at base, narrowly ovate, loosely connivent, yellow, the pores minute and directed distally. Ovary glabrous or with very short, gland-tipped hairs only; style 5.5-7 x 0.5-1 mm, cylindrical, glabrous; stigma capitate or bilobed.

Fruits:

Fruits 1-4 per inflorescence, 0.8-1.1 cm in diameter, 1-locular (septum absent or incomplete), globose, red, glabrous, few- (less than 20-) seeded, the exocarp 0.4-0.5 mm thick, the mesocarp juicy, succulent, the placenta not apparent.

Seeds:

Seeds 3-3.7 x 2-2.5 mm, pale yellow, flattened, the surface rugose.

Distribution:

Solanum lythrocarpum is endemic to Queensland. It is known from two small areas near the towns of Monto and Mundubbera. It grows on lateritised plateaux in ironbark-Acacia blakei forest with a dense shrubby understorey including some rainforest species. Associated species include Croton insularis, Phebalium nottii, Bertya opponens and Philotheca ciliata.

Phenology:

Flowers are recorded for June and December; mature fruits recorded for March, November and December.

Phylogeny:

Solanum lythrocarpum is a typical member of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. It is placed into the S. ferocissimum group (Group 13) by Bean (2004) on morphological grounds; its phylogenetic position has not been investigated using molecular data.

Commentary:

Solanum lythrocarpum is related to S. dissectum, but differs by the entire adult leaves (deeply lobed for S. dissectum); the presence of very short, gland-tipped hairs on the branchlets, leaf lamina and calyx (absent for S. dissectum); the presence of stellate hairs on leaves and calyx (absent for S. dissectum) and the fruiting pedicels 10-19 mm long (18-24 mm long for S. dissectum).

Conservation status: S. lythrocarpum is known from two localities, neither of which is within a conservation reserve. Applying the IUCN guidelines (IUCN, 2001), a category of “Vulnerable” is recommended (VU D1+2). In the Coominglah State Forest, less than 300 plants are known; 30-40 plants occur at the Mundubbera site.

Etymology: From the Greek ‘lythron’ meaning blood, and ‘carpos’ (fruit), in reference to the bright-red colour of the mature fruits.

References:

IUCN Species Survival Commision 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1.
Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN.

Bean, A.R. 2004. The taxonomy and ecology of Solanum subg. Leptostemonum (Dunal) Bitter (Solanaceae) in Queensland and far north-eastern New South Wales.
Austrobaileya 6 (4): 639-816.

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Solanum lythrocarpum A.R.Bean

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Solanaceae

Solanum lythrocarpum A.R.Bean

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NCBI