A revision of the “spiny solanums” of Tropical Asia (Solanum, the Leptostemonum Clade, Solanaceae)

The Leptostemonum Clade, or the “spiny solanums”, is the most species-rich monophyletic clade of the large cosmopolitan genus Solanum (Solanaceae) and represents almost half the species diversity of the genus. Species diversity in the clade is highest in the Americas, but significant clusters of endemic taxa occur in the Eastern Hemisphere. We present here a taxonomic revision of the 51 species of spiny solanums occurring in tropical Asia (excluding the island of New Guinea, and the lowlands of Nepal and Bhutan). Three species are described as new: Solanum kachinense X.Aubriot & S.Knapp, sp. nov. from northern Myanmar, S. peikuoense S.S.Ying, sp. nov. from Taiwan, and S. sulawesi X.Aubriot & S.Knapp, sp. nov. from northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Of the spiny solanums occurring in the region, 38 are native and 13 are introduced from the Americas or Africa, either as adventive weeds or as cultivated plants. Phylogenetic resolution amongst these taxa is still a work in progress, so we have chosen to treat these taxa in a geographical context to aid with identification and further taxon discovery. For the native species we provide complete nomenclatural details for all recognised species and their synonyms, complete descriptions, distributions including maps, common names and uses, and preliminary conservation assessments. For the introduced taxa that have been treated in detail elsewhere we provide details of types, synonyms based on tropical Asian material, general distributions, and common names for the region. We provide lecto- or neotypifications for 67 names; 63 for native and 4 for introduced taxa. All taxa are discussed and compared to similar species; keys are provided for all taxa. We illustrate all native species with herbarium and field photographs and introduced species with field photographs only. All specimens examined for this treatment are included in Suppl. materials 1–3 as searchable files.

PDF] Dichotomous keys to the species of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in continental Africa, Madagascar (incl. the Indian Ocean islands), Macaronesia and the Cape Verde Islands

PDF] Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the spiny solanums (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum)

Solanum lasiocarpum Dunal, Plants of the World Online

PDF] A revision of the “African Non-Spiny” Clade of Solanum L. (Solanum sections Afrosolanum Bitter, Benderianum Bitter, Lemurisolanum Bitter, Lyciosolanum Bitter, Macronesiotes Bitter, and Quadrangulare Bitter: Solanaceae)

PDF] Molecular delimitation of clades within New World species of the spiny solanums (Solanum subg. Leptostemonum)

Solanum cordatum Forssk.: a. Twig; b. Flower; c. Calyx; d, e. Stamen

Solanum chrysotrichum Schltdl., Plants of the World Online

Solanum cordatum Forssk., Plants of the World Online

Morphological trait evolution in Solanum (Solanaceae): Evolutionary lability of key taxonomic characters - Hilgenhof - 2023 - TAXON - Wiley Online Library

Solanum trilobatum L., Plants of the World Online

PDF) A revision of the “African Non-Spiny” Clade of Solanum L. (Solanum sections Afrosolanum Bitter, Benderianum Bitter, Lemurisolanum Bitter, Lyciosolanum Bitter, Macronesiotes Bitter, and Quadrangulare Bitter: Solanaceae)

Map of herbarium specimens with geographical coordinates of spiny

Solanum nigrum L. A Habit B Inflorescence (dense indumentum) C

Morphology of the Old World species of the Morelloid clade of Solanum A