Solanum aculeastrum Dunal Solanum anguivi Lam. Solanum incanum L. Solanum nigrum L. Solanaceae

Abstract

Botany and Ecology Solanum aculeastrum Dunal: Erect shrub to small tree, 1-6 m, prickly. Young stems terete, densely stellate-pubescent and prickly, with porrect to multangulate, sessile or variously stalked trichomes, the stalks to 2 mm long, the rays 8-12, 0.1-0.5 mm long, the midpoints shorter than the rays or up to 1 mm long, the prickles 8-17 mm long, 3-10 mm wide at base, curved, occasionally straight, strongly flattened, prominent, orange to orange-brown, glabrous to sparsely stellate-pubescent in the lower half, spaced 5-20 mm apart; bark of older stems stellate-pubescent to glabrescent, gray to red-brown or brown. Sympodial units plurifoliate. Leaves lobed, the blades 8-15 cm long, 6-12 cm wide, 1.5-2 times longer than wide, ovate, sometimes elliptic, chartaceous, drying strongly discolorous; adaxial surface red-green to yellow-green, glabrescent; abaxial surface white-gray, densely stellate-pubescent, with porrect and multangulate, sessile or stalked trichomes, the stalks to 0.1 mm long, the rays 8-12, 0.15-0.8 mm long, the midpoints same length as the rays or up to 1 mm long, with 0-2 prickles on both surfaces; the primary veins 3-6 pairs, the tertiary venation visible on both surfaces; base cordate to truncate, sometimes auriculate; margins lobed, the lobes 2-3 on each side, 1.5-4.5 cm long, extending 1/4-3/4 of the distance to the midvein, broaddeltate, often with secondary lobing, apically obtuse, sometimes rounded; apex acute; petiole 1.2-3 cm long, ca. 1/6 of the leaf blade length, densely stellatepubescent, with 0-2 prickles. Inflorescences apparently terminal or lateral, 3-6 cm long, unbranched or rarely branched, with 4-12 flowers, 1(-5) flowers open at any one time; axes densely stellate-pubescent, unarmed; peduncle 0-3.5 cm long; pedicels 1-3.5 cm long, erect, articulated at the base, densely stellate-pubescent, with 0-2 prickles on long-styled flowers, unarmed on short-styled flowers; pedicel scars spaced 1-4 mm apart. Flowers 5-merous, heterostylous and the plants andromonoecious, with the lowermost 1(-2) flowers long-styled and hermaphrodite, the distal flowers short-styled and staminate. Calyx 3-15 mm long, with 2-10 prickles in long-styled flowers, unarmed in short-styled flowers, the lobes 2-7 mm long, deltate, apically acute to apiculate, densely stellate-pubescent. Corolla 1.5-3.2 cm in diameter, white, sometimes mauve, stellate, lobed for 1/2-4/5 of the way to the base, the lobes 6-15 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, broad-deltate, spreading, densely stellate-pubescent abaxially, the trichomes porrect, sessile, the rays 8-12, 0.1-0.3 mm long, the midpoints shorter than the rays. Stamens equal, with the filament tube 2-3 mm long and the free portion of the filaments 0.5-1.5 mm long;