Solanum oxycarpum, Scheide

Spooner, David M., Van Den Berg, Ronald G., Peña, Antonio Rivera-, Velguth, Peter, Rio, Alfonso Del & López, Alberto Salas-, 2001, Taxonomy of Mexican and Central American Members of Solanum Series Conicibaccata (sect. Petota), Systematic Botany 26 (4), pp. 743-756 : 753-754

SOLANUM OXYCARPUM Scheide in Schltdl., Hort. hal. 1: 5, tab 3. 1841.

–TYPE: MEXICO. Veracruz: in rocky places at Malpays de La Joya , Jun 1929, C. Schiede s. n. (lectotype, chosen by Hawkes [1957]: HAL, [photos: K!, PTIS!) .

Plants 0.3–2 m tall; finely to coarsely pubescent above and below, blades 13–25 cm long, 7–15 cm wide, petioles 0.5–5 cm long; lateral leaflets (3)4–6(8) pairs, sessile to subsessile with petiolules to 3 mm long; interjected leaflets 0–8; inflorescence with 8–25 flowers; calyx lobes 3–7 mm long, acute to long-attenuate; corolla 2–3 cm in diam, purple; fruits 2–3.5 cm long.

Distribution and Habitat ( Fig. 2 ). Southeastern Mexico (Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz); from 1870–2870 m; in wet habitats, in organic soils, in full sun to partial shade, growing among shrubs and in pine-oak-alder forests, frequently in pockets of volcanic rocks, often growing among ferns and mosses.

Additional Specimens Examined. MEXICO. Hidalgo: mountains NE of Ixtlán de Juárez on road to Tuxtepec, 20-Jul 1968, Anderson & Anderson 4850 ( ENCB) ; Municipality of Tenango de Doria, 11 km W of Tenango de Doria, 2100 m, 6 Jul 1979, Hernandez M. 3427 ( MEXU) ; 20 km E of Metepec, Municipality of Metepec, 2130 m, 11 Aug 1980, Hernandez M. and Hernandez V. 4772 ( CAS, ENCB, MEXU) ; on Metepec-Tenango de Doria Rd, 16 km NE of intersection of this road with road entering Metepec, on S side of road, 20°18.94̍N, 98°15.50̍W, 2280 m, 4 Oct 1997, Rivera-Peña et al. 944 (INIFAP, MEXU, PTIS, WAG)* . Oaxaca: Km 25 on the road to Teotitlán from Huautla, right side of a canyon, 8 Nov 1964, Flores C. S-797 ( K, LL) ; Yotao, Galeotti 1225P ( W) ; in Sierra Madre Oriental, 29 km E of Teotitlán, 2300 m, 25 Sep 1957, Graham 323 ( LL) ; District of Mixe, Municipality of Totontepec, Totontepec, 17°15̍N, 96°02̍W, 2 Nov 1989, Rivera R. 1245 ( MEXU) ; Km 25 on the road from Teotitlán to Huatla, ca 20 m S of road above stream, 18°10.52̍N, 97°00.36̍W, 2240 m, 4 Oct 1997, Rivera-Peña et al. 952 (INIFAP, MEXU, PTIS, WAG)* ; Km 27.2 on road from Teotitlán to Huatla, at Puerto Soledad, 18°09.95̍N, 96°59.87̍W, 2370 m, 4 Oct 1997, Rivera-Peña et al. 953 (INIFAP, MEXU)* ; District Mixe, Municipality of Totontepec, Totontepec, 17°15̍N, 96°00̍W, 1900 m, 6 Oct 1986, Reyes 484 ( K, MEXU) ; 21.8 km N of Ixtlán de Juárez on Hwy 175 to Tuxtepec, 17°28̍N, 96°30̍W, 2870 m, 17 Oct 1984, Tarn et al. 272 ( PTIS)* ; same locality, 22 Sep 1988, Spooner et al. 4200 (INIFAP, IBUG, PTIS) ; 27 km N of N end of Ixtlán de Juárez on Rt 175 to Tuxtepec, 17°31̍N, 96°31̍W, 2850 m, 22 Sep 1988, Spooner et al. 4202 ( INIFAP, PTIS) ; 8.5 m E. of Rt 135 on road to Huautla, 18 Oct 1981, Warnock 2506 ( TEX) . Puebla: from Tehuacan to Puebla Rd., turn NE on road to Zoquitlán, 22 km up road, by divergence of road to Coyomeapa, 18°17.84̍N, 97°03.96̍W, 2640 m, 4 Oct 1997, Rivera-Peña et al. 951 (INIFAP, MEXU, PTIS, WAG)* ; road from Tehuacan to Oaxaca, turning off at Coxcatlán, 21 km towards Zoquitlan, La Griega, where road divides to Zoquitlan and Coyomeapa, 20°40̍N, 100°14̍W, 2660 m, 24 Oct 1987, Tarn et al. 180 ( PTIS)* ; road from Tehuacán to Oaxaca turning off at Coxcatlán towards Zoquitlan, 22 km along this road, 1 km past La Griega towards Coyomeapa , 20°40̍N, 100°14W, 2640 m, 24 Oct 1983, Tarn et al. 182 ( K, PTIS)* . Veracruz: Perote, La Joya, 1950 m, 23 Sep 1938, Balls and Gourlay 5513 ( BM, K) ; La Joya, Jalapa to Perote Rd, Rafael Ramírez, 2100 m, 29 Aug 1972, Dorantes et al. 1618 ( CAS, ENCB, F, MEXU, TAES, TEX) ; La Joya Mexico to Veracruz to Jalapa Rd, 100 m on right side of rd, 30 Sep 1964, Flores C. S-792 ( K, LL, MEXU) ; pedregal de La Joya, 18°14̍N, 96°07̍W, 2000 m, 27 Aug 1953, Graham 1 ( PTIS)* ; upper outskirts of La Joya, 2080 m, 12 Aug 1949, Hawkes and Hernández 1064 ( B, K, LL, MEXU, MPU, P, WAG) ; near Perote, km 306.5 from Mexico, road from Las Vigas to Jalapa, upper edge of La Joya village, Milpais de la Joya, walled enclosure on the S side of the road, 19°34̍N, 97°14̍W, 2100 m, 8 Oct 1958, Hawkes et al. 1634 ( PTIS) ; near Perote on the road from Las Vigas to Jalapa, upper edge of La Joya village, Milpais de La Joya, 2100 m, 8 Oct 1958, Hawkes et al. 1643 ( K)* ; near Perote, road from Las Vigas to Jalapa, upper edge of the La Joya village, Malpais de La Joya, 19°34̍N, 97°14̍W, 2100 m, 8 Oct 1958, Hawkes et al. 1645 ( C, K, MPU, PTIS, US)* ; Km 305.5 from Mexico on the road from Las Vigas to Jalapa, Malpais de La Joya, 19°40̍N, 98°35̍W, 2150 m, 8 Oct 1958, Hawkes et al. 1649 ( C, K, P, PTIS)* ; Municipality of Acajete, along road, Rt 140, 1 km NW of La Joya, 19°37̍N, 97°02̍W, 2175 m, 7 Sep 1986, Nee 32990 ( NY) ; old lava field about 4 mi W of Jalapa, 5000 ft, 28 Aug 1970, Norris & Taranto 16840 ( CAS, MEXU) ; La Joya, route from Jalapa to Puebla, near Perote, 2050 m, 10 Oct 1980, Ochoa 14213 ( PTIS, US)* ; La Joya, along Perote to Jalapa road, ca 100 m S of road by the restaurants by the road, 19°36̍.74̍N, 97°, 2188 m, 2 Oct 1997, Rivera-Peña et al. 949 (INIFAP, MEXU, PTIS, WAG)* ; Malpais de La Joya between Perote and Jalapa, about 32 km from Perote, Km 176 on Rt 140, 19°37̍N, 97°02̍W, 2200 m, 1 Nov 1984, Tarn et al. 286 ( PTIS)* ; Malpais de La Joya between Perote and Jalapa, about 32 km from Perote, Km 176 on Rt 140, 19°37̍N, 97°02̍W, 2200 m, 1 Nov 1984, Tarn et al. 287 ( PTIS)* ; turning off Rt 140 between Perote and Las Vigas, go S from Sierra de Agua ( N slope of Cerro Cofre de Perote); 14 km above Pescados, Rajas, 19°33̍N, 97°10̍W, 2840 m, 2 Nov 1984, Tarn et al. 288 ( PTIS)* ; Llano Grande, Municipality of Las Vigas, 2115 m, 15 Jul 1971, Ventura A. 3868 ( ENCB, IEB, MEXU) ; La Joya, Municipality of Acajete, 2050 m, 12 Jul 1980, Ventura A. 17479 ( ENCB, IEB, MEXU) ; Piedra Blanca, Municipality of Las Vigas, 2250 m, 13 Jul 1982, Ventura A. 19639 ( ENCB, IEB, MEXU) ; Along Xalapa to Vigas Rd, 200 m E of the road, at the altitude of Toxtlacoaya, Municipality of Las Vigas, 19°37̍N, 97°03̍W, 2200 m, 30 Aug 1989, Zamora C. 1009 ( IEB, MEXU) . Locality unknown: Liebmann 1394, 1841–1843 ( C [photo K]) .

Spooner et al. (2000) noted overlap in numbers of lateral and interjected leaflets in the field in Mexico between S. agrimonifolium and S. oxycarpum , which led them to question the distinctness of these two species. A collection from Hidalgo (Rivera-Peña et al. 944) from within the geographic range of S. oxycarpum was especially problematical because of its many lateral and interjected leaflets, this resembling some populations of S. agrimonifolium . Our data from three herbarium specimens of this collection ( Table 2 ) show numbers of lateral and interjected leaflets of (8,4; 7,6; 8,7), with the latter counts (specimen at WAG) having the highest numbers of leaflets for S. oxycarpum . However, other specimens from outside the range of S. agrimonifolium are nearly as dissected (e.g., Rivera 1245 [MEXU], from Oaxaca with 6,8). Collection Rivera-Peña et al. 944 is on the high end of variation for dissection for S. oxycarpum ( Fig. 3 ). The RAPD data show it to cluster with other accessions of this species, leading us to recognize it as S. oxycarpum .

Figures

FIG. 2. Distributions of the Mexican and Central American species of Solanum series Conicibaccata.

FIG. 3. Distribution of numbers of lateral and interjected leaflets in Mexican and Central American members of Solanum series Conicibaccata.