Solanum sect. Herpystichum Bitter,

Tepe, EJ & Bohs, L, 2011, A revision of Solanum section Herpystichum, Systematic Botany 36 (4), pp. 1068-1087 : 1074

Solanum sect. Herpystichum Bitter,

Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 17: 331. 1921.

— LECTOTYPE species: S. trifolium Dunal (designated by Seithe 1962).

Herbaceous to woody, ground-trailing to climbing vines, rooting at the nodes; stems and leaves glabrous to pubescent, the trichomes, if present, multicellular and unbranched. Sympodial units plurifoliate or unifoliate. Leaves simple or pinnately compound, membranous to somewhat fleshy, sand-punctate, the leaf venation palmate or pinnate, the compound leaves with 3 or 5 leaflets, with interstitial leaflets lacking; pseudostipules absent. Inflorescences usually extraaxillary, rarely axillary or leaf-opposed, usually opposed by adventitious roots in the ground-trailing species, usually unbranched, but rarely once or twice branched, ebracteate, bearing 3–116 flowers (scars), but usually fewer than 15; pedicels articulated at the base. Buds globose, rounded to pointed at apex (onion-shaped). Flowers apparently all perfect. Calyx short-lobed, the lobes membranous to fleshy; corollas stellate to pentagonal to rotate, 7–20 mm in diameter; anthers yellow, more or less equal, short and stout, oblong, not connivent, dehiscing by large apical pores, opening into introrse longitudinal slits with age, the filaments free, glabrous; ovary glabrous to minutely papillose. Fruit a berry, yellow, bronzebrown, purplish-black, to orangish-red when mature, occasionally mottled, slightly flattened and globose to conical to spindle-shaped, or strongly flattened and rhomboid to deltoid in outline, flattened perpendicular to the septum, the strongly flattened fruits with a narrow ridge around the margin. Seeds (mature) 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2 mm, rounded, teardropshaped to reniform, flattened, ca. 0.5 mm thick, tan to light reddish-brown, the surface minutely rugose to granular.

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF SOLANUM SECT. HERPYSTICHUM

1. Leavessimple ................................................................................................................... 2

2. Petioles mostly<2 cm long; leaf venation pinnate................................................................................ 3

3. Leaveswith 3–4 pairsofsecondaryveins (often obscure) ....................................................................... 4

4. Internodes mostly<1.5 cm long; arrangement of leaves and branches clearly distichous; branches mostly straight and arising at a near 45° angle from the main stem; leaves drying greenish to brownish, but not conspicuously blackish; inflorescencesoftenstem-terminaloratleastintheleafypartofthestem; allstemsterete ...................... 4. S. evolvulifolium

4. Internodes mostly> 1.5 cm long; arrangement of leaves and branches variable and not regularly distichous; branches sinuous and arising at various angles from the main stem; leaves frequently drying blackish; inflorescencesusuallyonolder, leaflesspartsofthestem; olderstems 8-shapedincross-section ................... 6. S. loxophyllum

3. Leaveswith (4–)5–7 pairsofsecondaryveins ................................................................................. 5

5. Plants somewhat fleshy; stems rather thick and fleshy; leaves broadly ovate to elliptic, 1–2 times as long as wide, somewhat fleshy, drying blackish; inflorescences 1–4 cmlong, occasionallybranched; corollas 1.5–2 cmindiameter ............................. 1. S. crassinervium

5. Plants herbaceous or woody, not discernibly fleshy; stems slender, herbaceous to woody; leaves lanceolate to ovate (rarely elliptic), 2–3 times as long as wide, nearly membranaceous to chartaceous, not noticeably fleshy, and drying greenish or brownish, not conspicuously blackish; inflorescences greater than 4 cm long, unbranched; corollas 0.7–1 cmindiameter .............................................................................. 6

6. Stems wiry-woody, light brown; leaves chartaceous with asymmetrical bases, the sides of the lamina 3–4 mm distant on the petiole; petioles 0.2–0.7 cm; plantsvariouslypubescent, especiallytheinflorescence ................................................ 3. S. dolichorhachis

6. Stems herbaceous, green; leaves membranaceous with ± symmetrical bases; petioles 1–1.5 cm; plantsglabrous ....................................................................................... 7. S. pacificum

2. Petioles mostly> 3 cm long; leaf venation palmate………7

7. Plantspubescent; corollasrotate-stellate (dividedtoaboutthemiddle); highelevations (> 2,000 m) ................... 2. S. dalibardiforme

7. Plantsglabrous; corollasstellate (dividednearlytothebase); lowelevations (<500 m) ............................. 5. S. limoncochaense

1. Leaves 3–5 foliate................................................................................................................ 8 8. Leaves 5-foliate, thecorollastellate ............................................................................... 8. S. pentaphyllum

8. Leaves 3-foliate, thecorollastellate or rotate………9

9. Petiole and petiolules glabrous to sparsely pubescent; leaflets elliptical to rhomboidal to rounded withobtusetoacuminateapices (alwayspointed); corollasstellate, white ......................................... 9. S. phaseoloides

9. Petiole and petiolules covered in short, dense pubescence; leaflets rounded with rounded to truncate apices, someminutelyapiculate; corollasrotate, violet .................................................................. 10. S. trifolium