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

Zimbabwe: 15 cultivated taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Acherontia atropos (Death's head hawk) Food plant
Antigastra catalaunalis (Red-veined pearl) Larval food plant
Solanum seaforthianum

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

SpeciesContent
aculeatissimum Jacq.Description, Image
betaceum Cav.Description, Image
capsicoides L.
chrysotrichum Schltdl.Description, Image
laxum Spreng.Description, Image
lycopersicum L.Description, Image
mammosum L.
mauritianum Scop.Description, Image
melongena L.
muricatum Aiton
pseudocapsicum L.
seaforthianum Andr.Description, Image
tuberosum L.
wendlandii Hook. f.Description
wrightii Benth.

Other sources of information about Solanum:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Solanum
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

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, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated plants: genus page: Solanum.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/genus.php?genus_id=1249, retrieved 28 March 2024

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