Solanum villosum Mill.

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation

Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident

Solanaceae, Jennifer M Edmonds. Oliganthes, Melongena & Monodolichopus, Maria S. Vorontsova & Sandra Knapp. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2012

Type

Type: cultivated Berlin Botanic Garden (B-W 4366!, sheet 3!, lecto., designated by Edmonds in J.L.S. 89: 166; 1984)

Morphology Stem

Stems angled with dentate ridges

Morphology General Indumentum

Plants subglabrous to moderately pilose with appressed, eglandular-headed multicellular uniseriate hairs

Ecology

Forest including riverine Acacia forest, flooded woodland, bushland and bushed grassland, grassy river banks, cultivated land, abandoned fields and settlements, pasture-land, disturbed and stony ground, a weed of cultivation and gardens; 50–2250 m

Note

The species S. hildebrandtii was described from seeds collected in Somalia by Hildebrandt and presumably cultivated in the Berlin Botanic Garden. Bitter (1913) later redescribed the species, citing Hildebrandt 865 (B†) as the holotype, whilst also mentioning some other specimens. There are duplicates of Hildebrandt 865 at the BM and L, while a plant from Berlin, now at HBG and annotated as S. hildebrandtii is probably part of the original live collection from the Berlin Botanical Garden. These specimens are all conspecific with S. villosum subsp. miniatum, with which S. hildebrandtii has therefore been synonymised. A full list of synonyms and citations for the two subspecies of the tetraploid S. villosum are given in Edmonds (1979 & 1984), together with a lengthy discussion; many of these are taxa described from Europe. Of these two subspecies the eglandular-haired subsp. miniatum predominates throughout the whole of Africa, with the glandular-haired subspecies villosum occurring predominantly northwards from Sinai. Typical S. villosum has condensed fewflowered (3–5) umbellate racemose inflorescences in which the fruiting pedicels often exceed the fruiting peduncles in length. Across the Flora area, and throughout much of Europe, lax cymose inflorescences with 3–8 flowers sometimes occur, and indeed two Tanzanian specimens had up to 11-flowered inflorescences on extended rachides. However, the latter on Greenway 6997 (T 2) varied from 0–1.6 cm, with the berries being described as orange-yellow, while the inflorescences on the orange-berried Hepper & Field 5500 (T 7) varied from 4–11-flowered though the fruiting rachides only varied from 0–5 mm.  This plant is widely used as a vegetable in East Africa; the leaves and sometimes the whole plants are used as a spinach in K 1–4, 6 & 7, in T 1, 2 & 7 and in U 2, while the berries are eaten raw as a fruit (with varying reports of induced-illness) in K 2 & 4 and in T 1 & 7. It is said to be less bitter than other section Solanum species. Cattle, game and goats reportedly graze the plants in Kenya, with medicinal uses including the use of berry juice for sore eyes and poultices made from ground soaked leaves for swellings in T 1. Occasional specimens have been encountered which might belong to the glandular-haired subsp. villosum or to one of the other African glandular-haired species of the section Solanum. A specimen collected from K 1 ( Hepper & Jaeger 6694) is densely villous but with eglandular hairs and unusually small flowers for this species (anthers 1–1.3 mm); the berry colour was described as orange. The leaf morphology is typical of another tetraploid species – the blackish-fruited S. memphiticum (see below) raising the possibility that it may be a hybrid between these two tetraploid species. The correct placement of S. humile is difficult; many European authors have treated it as a synonym of, or described it as, an infra-specific taxon of either S. nigrum or of S. villosum. Willdenow described the berries of his species as greenish but smaller than those in S. nigrum; this size reference is suggestive of S. villosum, and the berries may have been immature when he described them since those on the type specimens look blackish and could have been reddish when fresh. Morphologically his specimens suggest conspecificity with S. villosum subsp. miniatum. Dunal (1852) in his later treatment of this species cited a number of specimens (all seen by the author), some of which are synonymous with the latter and some with S. nigrum subsp. nigrum. Similarly, the infraspecific taxa described by various authors and based on Willdenow’s species are synonymous with either S. nigrum or S. villosum. The very brief description of S. luteo -virescens described the berry colour as yellowish-green and ”not yellow”, and the habitat as Karlsruhe in Germany. These are suggestive of it being synonymous with S. nigrum subsp. nigrum. However, Gmelin mentioned the possibility of his taxon being a hybrid between S. nigrum and S. luteum (=S. villosum). Since it was based on S. humile Bernh., the type of which is clearly conspecific with S. villosum subsp. miniatum this taxon has been tentatively synonymised with the latter here. Though it has been suggested that the species described as S. incertum Dunal (Hist. Solanum:155 (1813)) might be the correct name for S. sinaicum, a species occurring from Sinai through Saudi Arabia and Yemen to Ethiopia, it is now thought to be conspecific with S. villosum subsp. miniatum. The Malabaricus plate (t. 73) is somewhat stylised, while a Yemeni specimen ( Dunal 30, MPU!) cited later by Dunal (1852) has much smaller flowers than those typical for S. sinaicum. Similarly an Indian specimen from Calcutta ( Dunal 400) in P, which has S. incertum written on the label in Dunal’s hand and which has long been labelled as a type specimen, also has small flowers. The berries of the Dunalian species were described as pale orange and they look longitudinally ovoid in the Malabaricus plate; this species is therefore considered to be a synonym of S. villosum subsp. miniatum, a taxon common in India. The similarity of S. plebejum A. Rich. to both S. villosum subsp. miniatum and S. sinaicum is mentioned below. The small flowers seen on the type material, however, suggest that this species is synonymous with the former. When Bitter (1913) redescribed this species, he cited Schimper 509 (W); and a duplicate of this specimen at K is identical to var. miniatum. Though the holotypes of Bitter’s two varieties of “ S. plebejum” were destroyed, there is little doubt from the protologues that both var. subtile Bitter and var. brachysepalum Bitter are conspecific with S. plebejum, and that they are also synonymous with S. villosum subsp. miniatum. Lowe did not give any specimen details or numbers for the types of his new Madeiran taxa. There are two sheets labelled Lowe 547 at the BM; one is composed of two specimens both labelled as having been collected from the type locality Rib. de Sta Luzia. Both specimens are mophologically identical to S. villosum subsp. miniatum, and this sheet has been selected as the lectotype of S. patens. The second sheet is composed of three specimens. All have differing collection details which roughly correspond to those given in Lowe’s description of habitats in which this species was found. Lowe described the lobes as having distinct purple veins, a feature which can occur in several Section Solanum species, but which particularly characterises two other tetraploid African species – the northern S. sinaicum Dunal and the southern S. retroflexum Dunal. The latter always has dull purple berries whereas S. sinaicum is characterised by yellowish berries which turn black on drying, and are not translucent; Lowe described the berries of his new species as being dull reddish and showing the seeds inside which is characteristic of S. villosum. He also described the habit of S. patens as suffrutescent with stiffly stout almost woody branches – features which could also be applicable to S. sinacium – but the berry colour of the latter does not match Lowe’s description. The overall morphology of all three specimens is again indicative of synonymy with S. villosum subsp. miniatum, and the morphological variation exhibited by the different sheets is that expected in this taxon. Lowe’s type specimens of his two varieties of S. villosum are mounted on the same sheet. The lower of these is labelled var. laevigata; it has S. miniatum and Lisbon on the label, and is conspecific with S. villosum subsp. miniatum. Indeed in his protologue, Lowe gave S. miniatum as a synonym of his new variety. The upper specimen, Lowe 722, is labelled var. velutina and is conspecific with the var. villosum.

Distribution

Range: Also found in Nigeria, Angola and Madeira Range: Probably introduced from Eurasia, but now occurring from Israel and Egypt, through Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Burundi to tropical East Africa Flora districts: U1 U3 U4 K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 T1 T2 T4 T7

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit

Plant with eglandular ± appressed hairs.

Distribution

N1, 2; widespread in tropical and southern Africa, Europe and Middle East, introduced to North America and possibly New Zealand.

Ecology

Altitude range 1300–2000 m.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/96361061/96362920

Conservation

NT - near threatened

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit

Perennial herb or low shrub, 30–60(–120) cm high, with numerous stems arising from woody rhizomatous base, pubescent with eglandular, appressed hairs

Morphology Leaves

Leaves moderately pilose with eglandular hairs, denser below; petiole 0.6–1.6(–2.5) cm long, winged for at least 2/3 of its length; blade rhomboidal, ovate-lanceolate or ovate, 2–5 x 1–3 cm, base broadly cuneate to truncate, margins usually sinuate-dentate with up to 6 lobes on either side, apex acute or obtuse

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences simple, umbel- or raceme-like, laxly 2–5(–8)-flowered; peduncle erect, 8–12 mm in flower, 10–20(–30) mm in fruit; pedicels 6–12 mm long, deflexed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 2–4 mm long; lobes obovate to spathulate, 1–1.6 mm long, enlarging to 2–2.5 mm in fruit

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla white with dark purple midrib to petals and purplish basal star; petals strongly recurved

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers

Anthers orange-yellow, 2.5–3.25 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style

Style (4–)5–8 mm long, geniculate and exserted for 2–4 mm

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit yellow or orange, turning black on drying, 5–7 mm in diam. Seeds 1.8–2.2 mm long.

Distribution

N2; Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Ethiopia

Ecology

Altitude range 1500–2200 m.