7407.000 Solanum L. - Nightshades

LYCOPERSICON Mill.

Description of the genus

Herbs, shrubs, climbers or trees, unarmed or spiny, often stellate-hairy. Stipules 0, but Solanum mauritianum has prominent pseudostipules. Leaves alternate, entire, lobed to pinnatisect or pinnate. Inflorescences often extra-axillary, mostly racemose or umbellate cymes or terminal panicles. Calyx (4-)5-10-toothed or lobed, not or only slightly enlarging in fruit. Corolla often rotate, (4-)5(-6)-lobed, white, yellow, blue or purple. Filaments shorter than anthers; anthers often connivent, dehiscing by apical pores, Ovary 2(-4)-locular. Fruit a ± spherical berry.

Derivation of name: Ex Latin; solamen, quieting, alluding to the sedative properties

Worldwide: 1700 species, more or less cosmopolitan, especially in warm countries

Botswana: 15 taxa.

The larvae of the following species of insect eat species of this genus:
Acherontia atropos (Death's head hawk)
Antigastra catalaunalis (Red-veined pearl)
Solanum campylacanthum 'panduriforme type'

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
aculeatissimum Jacq.Description, Image
americanum Mill.Image
campylacanthum 'incanum type' N,SW,SEDescription, Image
campylacanthum 'panduriforme type' N,SW,SEDescription, Image
catombelense Peyr.N,SW,SE
grossidentatum A. Rich.SEDescription
lichtensteinii Willd.SEDescription, Image
mauritianum Scop.N,SW,SEDescription, Image
nigrum L.N,SW,SEImage
retroflexum DunalN,SEDescription, Image
seaforthianum Andr.SEDescription, Image
supinum DunalN,SW,SE
tarderemotum BitterN
tettense Klotzsch var. tettense NDescription, Image
tettense Klotzsch var. renschii (Vatke) A.E. Gonç.N,SW,SEDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Solanum:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: Solanum
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Malawi: Solanum
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Mozambique: Solanum
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Zambia: Solanum
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Solanum
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Solanum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Solanum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Solanum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Solanum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Solanum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Solanum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Solanum
JSTOR Plant Science: Solanum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Solanum
Plants of the World Online: Solanum
Tropicos: Solanum
Wikipedia: Solanum

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Botswana: Genus page: Solanum.
https://www.botswanaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1249, retrieved 19 March 2024

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