Solanum leptopodum Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Solanaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Solanum leptopodum Van Heurck & Müll.Arg.

  • Type

    Type. Brazil. Amazonas: Ad oram meridionaleum flum. Amazonum, ad ostium flum. Solimões, Jan 1851, Spruce 1700 (lec-totype, G-DC, here designated [F neg. 23127]; isolectotypes, AWH, BM, K, MO, NY [US neg. 2435]).

  • Synonyms

    Solanum loretoanum Bitter

  • Description

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    Species Description - Much-branched shrubs ("herb" on Kruckoff 8365, but distinctly woody) 1-4 m tall; young stems glabrous or pubescent with soft, pale yellow uniseriate trichomes 0.1-0.5 mm long; bark of the older stems reddish-brown, smooth and shining, sparsely lenticellate and occasionally pubescent with the same trichomes as the young stems; branches arching, giving the shrub a flattened aspect. Sympodial units difoliate, geminate, strongly anisophyllous. Leaves elliptic to ovate, glabrous above, glabrous or somewhat pubescent beneath, if pubescent, with soft uniseriate trichomes like those of the young stems on the midrib and principal veins, trichomes 0.1-0.75 mm long on the midrib, shorter on the smaller veins; major leaves elliptic to ovate, widest at or just below the middle, 9.5-19.6 x 3.6-8.5 cm, with 10-11 main lateral veins, impressed above, prominent, reddish-brown and occasionally pubescent beneath, the apex acuminate, the base acute; petioles 3-5 mm long; minor leaves orbicular, 0.3-1.9 x 0.3-1.9 cm, the apex rounded, the base acute; petioles 0-2 mm long. Inflorescences opposite the leaves, simple, slender, 0.7-3 cm long, 5-20-flowered, but only bearing a few flowers at a time, glabrous or pubescent with soft uniseriate trichomes like the stems and leaves; pedicel scars evenly spaced 0.5-2 mm apart, beginning 5-9 mm from the base of the inflorescence. Buds globose, pubescent with soft uniseriate trichomes 0.05-0.5 mm long, occasionally glabrous. Pedicels at anthesis deflexed, 0.7-1 cm long, filiform, tapering from the calyx tube to a threadlike base ca. 0.25 mm diam. Flowers with the calyx tube 0.5-1 mm long, broadly campanulate, lobes deltoid, 0.5-1 mm long, pubescent with the same trichomes as the buds, occasionally glabrous; corolla white, 6-7 mm across, lobed nearly to the base, the lobes strongly reflexed at anthesis, minutely papillose on the margins and backs of the lobes; anthers ca. 2 x 1.25 mm, poricidal at the tips, the pores teardrop shaped; free portion of the filaments ca. 0.5 mm long, the filament tube ca. 0.25 mm long; ovary glabrous; style 4-5 mm long; stigma minutely white papillose, not markedly differing in shape from the style. Fruit a globose, green berry, mustard yellow on herbarium specimens, 1-1.2 cm diam.; fruiting pedicels woody, deflexed, 2.1-2.6 cm long, ca. 2.5 mm diam. apically, 1 mm diam. at the base. Seeds brown, ovoid-reniform, ca. 3.5 x 2.5 mm, the surfaces minutely pitted. Chromosome number: n = 12 (voucher Knapp & Mallet 6610).

  • Discussion

    Solatium leptopodum is most similar to S. stipulatum of the rainforest of SE Brazil and to S. confine, also of eastern Amazonia. It shares with S. confine soft, golden pubescence, somewhat elongate inflorescences, and fruiting pedicels twice the length of the flowering pedicels. With S. stipulatum it shares strongly anisophyllous geminate leaves and completely orbicular, often appearing stipule-like, minor leaves. The leaves of both S. leptopodum and S. stipulatum are very shiny and dark green above and paler beneath.

    Solanum leptopodum is variable in pubescence throughout its range. Specimens from Peru and Colombia have been called S. loretoanum and are nearly glabrous, but intermediates exist between these nearly glabrous forms and the more pubescent type specimen from near Manaus, much further down the Amazon. The trichomes in all the specimens are of the same type: soft, yellow uniseriate trichomes, which vary in length in different areas. Some populations of S. leptopodum from eastern Ecuador (particularly in the Río Aguarico basin) have narrower leaves than the more typical plants. This character however, grades into the typical leaf shape, and no other differences between the two forms exist.

    Solarium leptopodum is one of the few species of sect. Geminata for which indigenous uses have been reported. In the Río Shushufindi region of eastern Ecuador, the Secoya people use the leaves of S. leptopodum as a treatment for “crybaby.” The leaves are crushed into lukewarm water, and the infant is bathed with the infusion (Vickers & Plowman, 1984). In this same general area of eastern Ecuador, but among Quichua speaking people, the plant is used for the treatment of “mal viento,” a broad general illness category, and for sleeplessness in children (Balslev 2386). In both of these treatments, bunches of leafy branches are waved over the afflicted person. Balslev (pers. comm.) has often seen S. leptopodum cultivated in dooryard gardens among these people. In lowland Colombia, a decoction of leaves is used to treat skin irritations (Plowman 2179).

  • Common Names

    salado sacha, huiarapanga, nuairapuhana panga, oyo ha’o

  • Distribution

    Upper Amazon basin from Manaus, Brazil (type), to Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia in primary forest and second growth, 100 to 500(-1900) m.

    Colombia South America| Amazonas Colombia South America| Caquetá Colombia South America| Meta Colombia South America| Putumayo Colombia South America| Morona-Santiago Ecuador South America| Napo Ecuador South America| Pastaza Ecuador South America| Peru South America| Loreto Peru South America| San Martín Peru South America| Ucayali Peru South America| Brazil South America| Amazonas Brazil South America|