Solanum muenscheri Standl. & Steyerm., 1940

Knapp, Sandra, 2013, A revision of the Dulcamaroid Clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 22, pp. 1-432 : 174-177

26. Solanum muenscheri Standl. & Steyerm. , Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 22: 275. 1940 Figure 65

Type.

Guatemala. Sololá: on mountain slope near Santa María, 10500 ft, 14 April 1937, W.L.C. Muenscher 12360 (holotype: F [F-905753, F neg. 49440]; isotype: BH [BH000039462]).

Description.

Shrubs or small trees, 1-10 m tall. Stems densely pubescent with greyish dendritic trichomes; new growth densely pubescent with greyish-yellow dendritic trichomes. Bark of older stems sparsely pubescent, greyish-yellow. Sympodial units plurifoliate, branching monochasial or dichasial. Leaves simple, 5.5-15 cm long, 1.2-3.5 cm wide, narrowly elliptic, the adaxial surfaces densely to sparsely pubescent with dendritic trichomes, these denser along the veins in sparsely pubescent individuals, the abaxial surfaces densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes on the veins and lamina; primary veins 10-20 pairs, pubescent; base acute, not winged on to the petiole; margins entire; apex acute to acuminate; petiole 1-2 cm long, not winged from the leaf bases. Inflorescences terminal, occasionally in the fork of branches, later appearing lateral from overtopping of shoots, 1-5 cm long, branching 2-4 times, with 5-25 flowers, densely pubescent with greyish-yellow dendritic trichomes like those of the stem and leaves; peduncle 0.5-1 cm long; pedicels 0.7-1.1 cm long, tapering from a basal diameter of 0.75-1 mm to an apical diameter of 2-3 mm, densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes, these somewhat longer than the trichomes of the leaves and stems, nodding at anthesis, articulated at the base and inserted into a sleeve ca. 1 mm long; pedicel scars uneven spaced to 1 cm apart, but clustered distally. Buds ellipsoid, the corolla strongly exserted from the calyx tube. Flowers all perfect, 5-merous. Calyx tube conical, 1.5-2 cm long, the lobes 2-2.5 m long, deltate to long triangular, densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes adaxially and abaxially. Corolla 1.5-2 cm in diameter, violet to deep purple, stellate to rotate-stellate, lobed 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the base, the lobes 7-10 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, planar or slightly reflexed at anthesis, densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes abaxially, sparsely pubescent with dendritic trichomes on the veins and petal surfaces adaxially, the trichomes denser at the tips of the lobes. Filament tube absent; free portion of the filaments 0.5-1 mm long, glabrous; anthers 2-2.5 mm long, ca. 1 mm wide, loosely connivent, poricidal at the tips, the pores becoming slit-like with age. Ovary glabrous or with a few dendritic trichomes at the apex; style 4-6 mm long, densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes from the base to 3/4 of its length; stigma clavate, the surface minutely papillose. Fruit a globose berry, 0.8-1 cm in diameter, black with thin pericarp; fruiting pedicels 1.5-1.8 cm long, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter at the base, woody, deflexed; calyx lobes somewhat accrescent in fruit, 3-5 mm long. Seeds ca. 20 per berry, ca. 3.5 mm × 2.5 mm, reddish-brown, lenticular, the surfaces minutely pitted. Chromosome number: not known.

Distribution

( Figure 66 ). Mountains of NW Guatemala and SW Mexico, from 2500-4000 m. Most collections come from the Sierra de Cuchumatanes in Guatemala.

Ecology.

Montane or cloud forests; dry slopes and Juniperus L. ( Cupressaceae ) forests.

Conservation status.

Endangered (EN); EOO <5,000 km2 (EN) and AOO <2,000 km2 (VU). See Moat (2007) for explanation of measurements.

Discussion.

Solanum muenscheri is a species of very limited distribution, found only in the mountains of N Guatemala and adjacent S. Mexico. It is apparently common locally and grows in mixed woodland and grassland near the tree line. Flowering specimens have been collected throughout the year, but there appears to be a peak in flowering in December.

Solanum muenscheri is similar to the Andean species Solanum nitidum , with which it is similar and perhaps closely related ( Knapp 1989), in its soft dendritic trichomes and parallel veined leaves. It differs from that species in having black mature berries, yellowish indument and in its generally somewhat smaller inflorescences and in being only found in Guatemala and Mexico.

Specimens examined.

Guatemala. Chimaltenango: Chemal, 31 Dec 1940, Johnston 1727 (F); Huehuetenango: Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, El Mirador, 3000 m, 12 Jan 1966, Molina R. et al. 16503 (F); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, between Paquix and Lllanos San Miguel, road to San Juan Ixcoy, 3300 m, 17 Nov 1967, Molina R. 21215 (F); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Chemal, 4000 m, 13 Sep 1971, Molina R. & Molina 26410 (F); Huehuetenango, road from San Juan Ixcoy to Huehuetenango, high pla teau in the center of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 3450 m, 13 Mar 2003, Schneider et al. 104 (B); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, between the first cumbre and La Pradera, 3500 m, 28 Dec 1940, Standley 81147 (F); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, along road beyond La Pradera, km 32, 3300 m, 31 Dec 1940, Standley 81724 (F); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, El Mirador, at the summit of the road leading from Huehuetenango to Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, 3300 m, 31 Dec 1940, Standley 81886 (F); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, between Chemal and Calaveras, 2800 m, 9 Aug 1942, Steyermark 50333 (F); Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, just below Calaveras, 3000 m, 4 Dec 1962, Williams et al. 22388 (F); San Marcos: Volcán Tajumulco, along road between San Sebastian at km 21 and km 8, 8-18 miles NW of San Marcos, 2700 m, 15 Feb 1940, Steyermark 35633 (F); Sololá: Volcán Zuñil, 3000 m, 27 Dec 1976, Schwabe s.n. (B); Totonicapán: La Cumbre, between kms 150-158 vicinity of La Cumbre of Totonicapan, 2500 m, 1 Dec 1969, Molina R. & Molina 25054 (F); Chiu Jolom, mountains above Totonicapán on road to Desconseulo, 2800 m, 23 Jan 1941, Standley 84478 (F); Sierra Madre mountains about 8-10 km airline S of Totonicapán, 3100 m, 13 Dec 1962, Williams et al. 22919 (F).

Mexico. Chiapas. Near summit of Volcán Tacaná, 2200 m, 30 July 1972, Breedlove 26699 (CAS, NY).

Figures

Figure 65. Solanum muenscheri Standl. & Steyerm. (A-B drawn from Steyermark 35633). Reproduced from Knapp (1989) with permission of the Natural History Museum Botany Library. Illustration by Margaret Tebbs.

Figure 66. Distribution of Solanum muenscheri Standl. & Steyerm.