Solanum triste Jacq.
-
Authority
Knapp, Sandra D. 2002.
section (Solanaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 84: 1-404. (Published by NYBG Press) -
Family
Solanaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Type
Type. Martinique, ad ripas fruticosas fluvii Diva Petri, (lectotype, Jacquin, Select, stirp. amer. hist. fig. 40. 1763, designated by Knapp, 1991a).
-
Synonyms
Solanum cataractae Britton
-
Description
Species Description - Shrubs or small trees, 1-7 m tall; young stems and leaves glabrous or minutely papillose, soon glabrous; branches erect, green; young leaves pubescent along the midrib beneath; bark of older stems grayish-brown. Sympodial units difoliate, geminate. Leaves elliptic to obovate, widest at or just distal to the middle, glabrous above, sparsely to densely pubescent beneath with uniseriate simple or branched trichomes in the axils of the main lateral veins or along the midrib, the trichomes golden and usually branched, 0.5-1 mm long; major leaves 10-30 x 7-14 cm, with 10-12 pairs of main lateral veins, these drying golden brown beneath, the apex acute, the base acute to attenuate; petioles 1.5-2.5 cm long, lightly winged from the decurrent leaf bases; minor leaves differing from the major ones only in size, but occasionally in shape, orbicular to elliptic, 3-19 x 2-9 cm, the apex acute, the base acute to attenuate; petioles 0.4-1 cm long. Inflorescences opposite the leaves, 1.2-6 cm long, usually branched in the distal 1/3, densely puberulent with erect uniseriate trichomes 0.1-0.5 mm long, these either simple or branched; pedicel scars evenly spaced ca. 0.5 mm apart. Buds globose when very young, the corolla soon exserted, the buds then ellipsoid, densely puberulent. Pedicels at anthesis deflexed, white, 1-1.3 cm long, tapering from the constriction at the base of the calyx tube to a slender base ca. 0.5 mm diam., sparsely to densely puberulent with trichomes like those of the rest of the inflorescence. Flowers with the calyx tube broadly campanulate, 1-1.5 mm long, with a strong constriction at the base, this not apparent in dry material, the lobes broadly deltoid with rounded tips, 0.5-1 mm long, with a constriction at the junction of the lobes and the tube, densely golden-puberulent; corolla white, fleshy, 1-1.5 cm diam., lobed 3/4 of the way to the base, the lobes planar at anthesis, the margins and tips of the lobes densely golden-puberulent like the rest of the inflorescence; anthers 3.5-4 x 1-1.5 mm, poricidal at the tips, the pores teardrop shaped; free portion of the filaments minute, absent to 0.2 mm long, the filament tube 0.50.7 mm long; ovary densely golden-pubescent, the trichomes uniseriate, simple or branched, 0.2-0.6 mm long; style straight, 5-6 mm long, pubescent at the base; stigma capitate, the surface minutely papillose. Fruit a globose, green berry, 1-1.5 cm diam.; fruiting pedicels woody, erect or slightly deflexed at fruit maturity, 1-1.5 cm long, ca. 1 mm diam. at the base. Seeds dark brown in dry material, ovoid-reniform, ca. 2.5 x 2 mm, the margins somewhat incrassate, the surfaces minutely pitted. Chromosome number: n = 12 (voucher Knapp & Mallet 6750).
-
Discussion
Solanum triste is related to S. turgidum of higher elevations on the Paria peninsula (Sucre, Venezuela), from which it differs in its white flowers, pubescent leaves, longer fruiting pedicels, and second growth habitat (see Knapp, 1991b). Solanum triste is a rank second growth weed, and grows in large stands at the edges of pastures. The leaves are quite foetid smelling, and this characteristic is reflected in the common name of this plant in Venezuela. Near Cumanacoa, Venezuela, the leaves of S. triste are fed upon by the larvae of the ithomiine butterfly Pteronymia latilla (see Table XI). These caterpillars were quite common where I collected them, and defoliated plants of S. triste.
-
Common Names
tabaquero
-
Distribution
In dry forest and secondary growth in coastal eastern Venezuela, Trinidad, Martinique, and Dominica, from sea level to 200 m.
Martinique South America| Venezuela South America| Anzoátegui Venezuela South America| Monagas Venezuela South America| Sucre Venezuela South America| Trinidad and Tobago South America| Dominica South America|