Solanum tenuiflagellatum
Citation:
Brittonia 38: 286. 1986.
Type:
Venezuela. Aragua/Distrito Federal: Prope Colonia Tovar, 1854-55, Fendler 977 (holotype, G [Morton neg. 8560]; isotypes, K, MO, NY, P).
Last edited by:
Knapp, S.
Written by:
Knapp, S.
Habit:
Shrubs or small trees, 1-5 m tall; young stems and leaves densely pubescent with uniseriate curly tipped trichomes 0.5-0.8 mm long; older stems persistently pubescent; bark of older stems grey.
Sympodial structure:
Sympodial units unifoliate, occasionally difoliate and geminate on the lower stems.
Leaves:
Leaves elliptic, widest at the middle, sparsely to densely pubescent with uniseriate trichomes 0.5-0.8 mm long along the veins beneath; major leaves 4-17 x 2-9 cm, varying greatly in size on a single stem, with 5-7 pairs of main lateral veins, the midrib raised above, the apex acute to acuminate, the base acute, decurrent on the petiole; petiole 0.4-1.5 cm long, slightly winged from the decurrent leaf base; minor leaves, if present, not differing from the major ones except occasionally in size.
Inflorescences:
Inflorescences opposite the leaves or slightly internodal, very long and slender, 3-30 cm long, occasionally irregularly branched, only bearing a few flowers at a time, but with 10-100 scars of previously borne flowers, sparsely pubescent with uniseriate trichomes like those of the leaves and stems; pedicel scars raised, widely and unevenly spaced along the inflorescence, 0.5-1 cm apart. Buds globose, the corolla soon exserted from the calyx lobes, the calyx lobes reflexed. Pedicels at anthesis deflexed, 1-1.2 cm long, filiform, tapering from the calyx tube to a slender base ca. 0.25 mm in diam., sparsely pubescent with uniseriate trichomes ca. 0.5 mm long.
Flowers:
Flowers with the calyx tube short obconic, ca. 1 mm long, the lobes long-triangular, 0.5-1 mm long, densely pubescent with uniseriate trichomes like those of the rest of the inflorescence, the trichomes denser on the tube than on the lobes; corolla white, 0.7-1 cm in diam., lobed ca. 3/4 of the way to the base, the lobes planar at anthesis, or very slightly reflexed at the tips, the tips of the lobes minutely papillose; anthers ca. 2 x 0.75-1 mm long, poricidal at the tips, the pores tear-drop shaped; free portion of the filaments 0.5-0.7 mm long, the filament tube extremely short, less than 0.1 mm; ovary glabrous; style straight, ca. 4 mm long, drying black; stigma clavate, minutely papillose.
Fruits:
Fruit a globose, green berry, ca. 1 cm in diam.; fruiting pedicels greatly elongated, deflexed, causing the inflorescence to be pulled down straight, 3-3.5 cm long, ca. 0.75 mm in diam. at the base, expanded at the apex, ca. 3 mm in diam.
Seeds:
Seeds pale tan, ovoid-reniform, ca. 3 x 2 mm, the surfaces minutely pitted.
Distribution:
In the Cordillera de la Costa of Venezuela, from 1000 to 1750 m.
Phylogeny:
Solanum tenuiflagellatum is a member of the Solanum confine species group (Knapp, 2002) of the Geminata clade (Bohs, 2005).
References:
Knapp, S. 2002. Solanum section Geminata (G. Don) Walpers (Solanaceae).
Flora Neotropica 84: 1-405.
Bohs, L. 2005. Major clades in Solanum based on ndhF sequences.
Pp. 27-49 in R. C. Keating, V. C. Hollowell, & T. B. Croat (eds.), A festschrift for William G. D’Arcy: the legacy of a taxonomist. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Vol. 104. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
Solanum tenuiflagellatum is most closely related to Solanum leptorhachis of western Ecuador, sharing with that species an extremely elongate inflorescence, flowers with the petals held planar at anthesis, and pedicels that in fruit are nearly four times their length at anthesis. Solanum tenuiflagellatum is easily distinguished from S. leptorhachis by its much longer inflorescences, copious leaf pubescence, acuminate calyx lobes which are recurved at anthesis, and greenish flowers. The inflorescences of S. tenuiflagellatum are the longest in the S. confine species group, and also in the section. They are thread-like and often become tangled in the leaves of the branches below them. Solanum tenuiflagellatum has only been collected a few times despite its striking inflorescence morphology. Where it does occur, often several plants are found in the area, but it seems to have a rather patchy distribution over its geographical range.