Solanum turgidum
Known only from the ridges of the Peninsula de Paria in eastern Venezuela, in cloud forest at ca. 800 m.
Solanum turgidum is a member of the Solanum sessile species group (Knapp, 2002) of the Geminata clade (Bohs, 2005).
Knapp, S. 1991. A cladistic analysis of the Solanum sessile species group (section Geminata pro parte: Solanaceae).
J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 106: 73-89.
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 turgidum is related to S. triste and S. chlamydogynum, both also of coastal Venezuela (see Knapp, 1991b). They share several homoplastic synapomorphies: branched pubescence, thickened calyx lobes and incrassate seed margins. Solanum turgidum is easily distinguished from S. triste or S. chlamydogynum in its greenish flowers, glabrous leaves, and short, stout fruting pedicels. The trichomes on the style base of S. turgidum appear uniseriate and simple under the dissecting microscope, but when viewed at high magnifications with the SEM, it is clear that at least some of them are furcate (see Fig. 11 in Knapp, 2002). This possession of both branched and simple trichomes is common in the S. sessile species group.
Solanum turgidum grows in low cloud forest, under closed canopy. The plants have a clumped distribution, and apparently are growing in old light gaps in the forest. Solanum turgidum is common where it occurs, but is uncommon on a regional scale.