Solanum nobile
Not known
In Queensland, Solanum nobile is known only from the Killarney area, but several populations are known in New South Wales as far south as Bellingen River. It grows in notophyll rainforest, or in tall wet sclerophyll forest dominated by Eucalyptus saligna.
Solanum nobile is a typical member of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. It is placed into the S. macoorai group (Group 27B) by Bean (2004) on morphological grounds; its phylogenetic position has not been investigated using molecular data.
IUCN Species Survival Commision 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1.
Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN.
Bean, A.R. 2001. A revision of Solanum brownii Dunal (Solanaceae) and its allies.
Telopea 9(3): 639-661.
Bean, A.R. 2004. The taxonomy and ecology of Solanum subg. Leptostemonum (Dunal) Bitter (Solanaceae) in Queensland and far north-eastern New South Wales.
Austrobaileya 6 (4): 639-816.
Solanum nobile has been confused with S. cinereum. It differs from S. cinereum by its greater stature, mostly unarmed adult leaf lower surface, calyces unarmed or with a few prickles only, ovary with stipitate glands, pale seeds, and rainforest habitat.
It is also closely related to S. curvicuspe with which it shares the deeply and acutely lobed juvenile leaves, and the preferred habitat. Solanum nobile differs by the deeply lobed adult leaves, the sparse indumentum on the upper leaf surface, loose indumentum of lower leaf surface and the larger calyx stellae with longer rays. Solanum nobile occurs to the north of S. curvicuspe, and there is no evidence of intergradation between the species.
Etymology: The epithet is from the Latin nobilis, meaning noble or grand. This is a reference to the plant’s tall stature and its impressive floral display.
Conservation status: Applying the IUCN guidelines (IUCN, 2001), a category of “Vulnerable” is recommended (VU B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii); C2a(i)). In the early 1900s, several collections were made from relatively low altitudes. No populations can now be found at these localities, which could indicate that they have been unable to compete with the pernicious weed Lantana camara, and hence driven to extinction. However, several populations persist at altitudes beyond the climatic tolerance of Lantana. It is conserved in Gibraltar Range National Park and may be present in other conservation reserves.