Solanum zanzibarense Vatke

Seed Collecting Guide. RBG Kew (2013-2016)

Morphology General Habit

erect to climbing woody herb or shrub, armed, sparsely branched; young stems long, slender, ascendant, flattened to terete, stellate-pubescent; bark smooth, grey to brown; leaves evenly distributed along the stems; leaf scars obscure

Morphology Leaves

leaves simple, the blades 3-14 x 1.5-7.5 cm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, ovate to lanceolate, membranous to chartaceous, stellate-pubescent to glabrescent on both sides

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

inflorescences apparently lateral, sometimes terminal, 2-5 cm long, not branched, with 2-10 flowers

Morphology General Buds

buds ovoid, the calyx shorter than the corolla

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

flowers apparently all perfect, 4- or 5-merous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

calyx 2-4 mm long, cupular, divided for 1/3-1/2 of its length

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

corolla 1.5-2 cm in diameter, white to pale mauve or purple, stellate, lobed for ca 5/6 of its length

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

fruit a globose or slightly elongated berry, 1-4(10) per infructescence, 8-14 mm in diameter, the pericarp thin, smooth, shiny, glabrous, green when young, bright red to orange-red at maturity, the stigma attachment point a small stump

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

seeds ca 15-30 per berry, 1.8-2.5 x 1.5-2.3 x ca 0.3 mm, flattened-reniform, white-yellow to yellow-orange or dull­ orange, the surface shiny, minutely reticulate or with raised outlines of cells or small pits.

Ecology

wet or dry forest undergrowth, forest edges, and rocky outcrops on sand or sandy loam. altitude0-700m

Distribution

coastal areas of Southern Kenya (coast province) , Tanzania (tanga province, Eastern province , Southern province, zanzibar, pemba), and Mozambique.

Conservation

least concerned

Phenology

Flower (march - june), fruit (all year)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/101535248/101535251

Conservation

LC - least concern

Flora Zambesiaca. Vol. 8, Part 4. Solanaceae. Gonçalves AE. 2005

Type

Type from Tanzania.

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

Type

Type: Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kidoti, Hildebrandt 988 (BM!, lecto., designated here [best material]; K!, W, isolecto.)

Morphology General

Prostrate or climbing subshrub to 4 m, armed; young stems stellate-pubescent, trichomes porrect, translucent to orange-brown, sessile or stalked, stalks up to 0.1 mm, rays 7–8, 0.1–0.15 mm, midpoints short or reduced to glands; prickles straight or curved, 2–4 mm long, 0.8–2 mm wide at base, round or flattened

Morphology Leaves

Leaf blades drying usually concolorous, yellow-green to red-green, ovate to lanceolate, 3–14 × 1.5–7.5 cm, 2.5–3 times longer than wide, base cuneate, often unequal or oblique, margin lobed, sometimes entire, lobes 2–3 on each side, up to 15 mm long, rounded to deltate (obovate), apically rounded to obtuse, extending up to 1/2(–2/3) of the distance to the midvein; apex acute to obtuse; stellate-pubescent to glabrescent on both sides, trichomes on abaxial surface porrect, stalked, stalks to 0.1 mm, rays (4–)6–8, 0.1–0.2 mm, midpoints short or reduced to glands, adaxially glabrescent, rays reduced to (2–)4–8, often less than 0.1 mm long, sometimes rays almost invisible with only brown globular glands seen; primary veins 4–6 pairs; petiole 0.5–4 cm, 1/3–1/6 of the leaf length

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescences not branched, 2–5 cm long, with 2–10 flowers; peduncle 0–5 mm long; rachis 0–2.5 cm long; peduncle and rachis usually unarmed; pedicels 0.3–0.7 cm long, in fruit 1.2–1.8 cm long, usually unarmed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers perfect, 4–5-merous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 2–4 mm long, lobes deltate, 0.5–1.5 mm long, acute to acuminate, usually unarmed. Corolla white to mauve, 1.5–2 cm in diameter, lobed for ± 4/5 of its length, lobes narrowly ovate to narrowly deltate or oblong, 6–8(–12) × 1.5–2 mm

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens equal; anthers 4–6.5 mm

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary glabrous or with minute simple hairs; style 8–12 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Berries 1–4(–10) per infructescence, red at maturity, spherical, 8–14 mm in diameter

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds 1.8–2.5 × 1.5–2.3 mm

Figures

Fig 22, p 187

Ecology

Moist or dry forest, forest edges, rocky outcrops, on sand or sandy loam; 0–700 m

Note

Solanum zanzibarense can be recognised by its small flowers with long narrow corolla lobes, scrambling or climbing habit, slightly recurved or sometimes straight prickles over 2 mm long, and trichomes with very short stalks and short midpoints. This species includes a wide range of interbreeding populations across coastal East Africa from Kenya to Mozambique, encompassing a variety of leaf shapes and prickle morphologies, stalkedtrichome lobed-leaved populations from Zanzibar ( S. zanzibarense sensu stricto) and glabrescent large-leaved populations from Kenyan and Tanzanian coast (often annotated as S. vagans). None of the distinguishing characters can alone separate all specimens, but the combination of leaf size and shape, trichome stalk length, calyx lobe shape and flower size correlates with geographical distribution. Like many similar climbing spiny Solanum species treated here, S. zanzibarense occurs sporadically over a large geographical area but can be difficult to find outside its flowering season.

Distribution

Range: Mozambique Flora districts: K7 T6 T8 Z