Solanum venosum Dunal

Authority

Knapp, Sandra D. 2002. section (Solanaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 84: 1-404. (Published by NYBG Press)

Family

Solanaceae

Scientific Name

Solanum venosum Dunal

Type

Type. Colombia. Caldas: Quindio, Humboldt & Bonpland s.n. (holotype, P-Bonpl. [Morton neg. 22325]; isotypes, P [Morton neg. 8360, 8361]).

Synonyms

Solanum fulvivillosum Bitter, Solanum hypiodes Bitter

Description

Species Description - Shrubs or small trees, 1.5-5 m tall; young stems densely pubescent with congested dendritic trichomes (Christmas-tree-like), the new growth densely pubescent with loose dendritic trichomes; branches erect, thick, not glabrate; bark of older stems dark brown. Sympodia plurifoliate. Leaves elliptic, widest at the middle, the adaxial surfaces glabrous with dendritic trichomes along the veins or sparsely pubescent with dendritic trichomes, the branches of the trichomes either congested (type) or loose, the abaxial surfaces densely to sparsely pubescent with reddish dendritic trichomes like those of the upper leaf surfaces, leaf blades 7-18 (30) cm long, 5-12 cm wide, with 10-20 pairs of main lateral veins, the apex acute, the base acute to truncate; petioles 2-5 cm long. Inflorescences terminal, later lateral, 2.5-12 cm long, many times branched, 5-25-flowered, densely pubescent with tree-like dendritic trichomes like those of the stems; pedicel scars unevenly spaced 1-2 mm apart. Buds globose, later ellipsoid, strongly exserted from the calyx tube. Pedicels at anthesis stout, 0.4-1.3 cm long, ca. 1 mm diam., densely pubescent like the rest of the inflorescence. Flowers with the calyx tube campanulate, 1-2 mm long, the lobes deflate with thickened white margins, 1.5-2 mm long, densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes like those of the rest of the inflorescence; corolla white, fleshy, 1-1.5 cm diam., lobed ca. 2/3 of the way to the base, the lobes planar at anthesis, the abaxial petal surfaces densely pubescent with minute densely branched trichomes and elongate papillae ca. 0.5 mm long; anthers 2.5-3.5 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, poricidal at the tips, the pores teardrop shaped; free portion of the filaments 0.2-0.5 mm long, the filament tube ca. 0.5 mm long, glabrous; ovary glabrous or with a few dendritic trichomes; style 4-8 mm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with dendritic trichomes; stigma capitate, the surface minutely papillose. Fruit a globose, green berry, ca. 1 cm diam. (immature?); fruiting pedicels woody, erect, 1-2 cm long, variable within a plant, ca. 2 mm diam. Seeds pale tan to reddish-brown, flattened-reniform with prominent incrassate margins, 3.5-4 mm long, 2.5-3 mm wide, the body flat, the margins minutely pitted. Chromosome number unknown.

Discussion

Solanum venosum is closely related to S. oblongifolium with which it is completely sympatric. The species are superficially very similar, with large leaves and complex inflorescences, but differ in trichome color and morphology. The stem trichomes of S. venosum were described as “pilus crassiculis, pubescentibus” by Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth (1818). This has caused considerable confusion (see Morton, 1944), but the stem trichomes of S. venosum indeed appear pubescent. They are of the Christmas-tree-like echinoid type with the branches off the main axis of the trichome closely packed and occasionally secondarily branching. This secondary branching is unusual in trichomes in sect. Geminata. Leaf and stem trichomes of S. venosum are red-brown while those of S. oblongifolium are always transparent or dry white.

Common Names

furafango, digala, pululu

Distribution

Northern Colombia to central Ecuador in montane forest and forest margins, 2000-3500 m.

Colombia South America| Antioquia Colombia South America| Caldas Colombia South America| Cauca Colombia South America| Valle del Cauca Colombia South America| Nariño Colombia South America| Ecuador South America| Bolívar Ecuador South America| Carchi Ecuador South America| Cotopaxi Ecuador South America| Imbabura Ecuador South America| Pichincha Ecuador South America| Tungurahua Ecuador South America|