Solanum calileguae Cabrera, 1978

Knapp, Sandra, 2013, A revision of the Dulcamaroid Clade of Solanum L. (Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 22, pp. 1-432 : 75-78

9. Solanum calileguae Cabrera , Hickenia 1: 162. 1978 Figure 24

Type.

Argentina. Jujuy: Dpto. Valle Grande, road to Altos de Calilegua, 31 Oct 1974, A.L. Cabrera, N.B. Deginani, A. Giaioti, R. Kiesling, E. Zardini & F.O. Zuloaga 25639 (holotype: SI; isotype: LP [n.v.]).

Description.

Woody vine. Stems scandent, glabrous to pubescent with a mixture of transparent simple and dendritic uniseriate trichomes to 1 mm long; new growth densely pubescent with simple and mostly dendritic trichomes. Bark of older stems yellowish brown. Sympodial units plurifoliate. Leaves simple to deeply 5-lobed, the lower lobes complete and the leaves apparently pinnate, 5.5-9 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm wide, narrowly elliptic, the divided leaves to 10 cm long, 10 cm wide, elliptic in outline, membranous, the upper surfaces sparsely pubescent on the veins and lamina with dendritic 3-4-celled trichomes to 0.5 mm long, the lower surfaces densely pubescent along the veins with dendritic trichomes to 0.5 mm long like those of the upper surface, these sometimes extending to the lamina; primary veins 7-9 pairs; base truncate, oblique and asymmetric; margins entire or lobed, the lobes to 5 cm long, 2 cm wide; apex acute; petioles (1-)1.5-3(-6+) cm long, sparsely to densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes, especially adaxially, twining. Inflorescences terminal, later lateral, to 13 cm long, many times branched, with up to 30+ flowers, sparsely to densely pubescent with a mixture of simple and dendritic uniseriate trichomes to 0.5 mm long; peduncle to 8 cm long; pedicels 0.9-1.1 cm long, ca. 0.5 mm in diameter at the base, ca. 1 mm in diameter at the apex, slender, spreading at anthesis, sparsely to densely pubescent with a mixture of simple and dendritic trichomes like those of the inflorescence axis, articulated at the base from a small sleeve, leaving a small peg on the inflorescence axis; pedicel scars irregularly spaced up to 9 mm apart. Buds broadly ellipsoid, the corolla about halfway exerted from the calyx before anthesis. Flowers all perfect, 5-merous. Calyx tube 2-3 mm long, conical, irregularly splitting into lobes 2-4 mm long, densely pubescent with dendritic trichomes, these denser on the tube. Corolla 2-3 cm in diameter, white, stellate-rotate, lobed 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the base, the lobes 9-12 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, planar at anthesis, densely pubescent abaxially with minute simple trichomes to 0.5 mm long, pubescent adaxially along the distal half of the midvein with minute simple trichomes to 0.5 mm long, the tips cucullate. Filament tube minute, the free portion of the filaments 0.5-1 mm long, minutely puberulent within with tangled, weak simple uniseriate trichomes; anthers ca. 5 mm long, 2 mm wide, ellipsoid, yellow, loosely connivent, poricidal at the tips, the pores lengthening to slits with age. Ovary glabrous; style ca. 9 mm long, densely pubescent in the basal half with weak, tangled simple uniseriate trichomes; stigma minutely clavate, the surface minutely papillose. Fruit a globose berry, ca. 1 cm in diameter (fide Cabrera 1983). Seeds not seen from mature berries.

Distribution

( Figure 25 ). Known only from the foothills of the Andes in the Provinces of Jujuy and Salta, Argentina, 1600-1850 m; possibly also occurring (sterile voucher only) in adjacent Bolivia.

Ecology.

In premontane forests dominated by Juglans L. ( Juglandaceae ) and Podocarpus Pers. ( Podocarpaceae ).

Conservation status.

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

Discussion.

Solanum calileguae is a distinctive species with its dense dendritic pubescence and large, white flowers. It has a restricted Andean distribution, and is easily distinguished from other members of the group potentially occurring in the area. It differs from Solanum uncinellum , which also has dendritic pubescence on the stems and leaves, in its ellipsoid (rather than long pointed) buds, its rotate-stellate rather than deeply stellate flowers and in its anthers borne on equal filaments. Solanum uncinellum , although widespread over most of South America, has only once been collected in the Andean foothills of Argentina, but not from the same area where Solanum calileguae occurs. Solanum calileguae is most similar and perhaps most closely related to Solanum flaccidum , from which it differs in the dendritic pubescence and anthers borne on equal filaments. Solanum flaccidum occurs in southeastern Brazil, and the two species are unlikely to be found together in the field.

Specimens examined.

Argentina. Jujuy: Ledesma, Abra de las Cañas, camino a Velle Grande, 24 km NW de Libertador Gral. S. Martín, 1600 m, 8 Nov 1974, Krapovickas et al. 26583 (G, MO); Palpalá, Cerro Zapla, above Quebrada Los Tomates, on road to Cerro Zapla, 1850 m, 13 Apr 2000, Nee et al. 50756 (CORD, NY); Valle Grande, 2 km N of Abra de Cañas on road from Calilegua to Valle Grande, 14 km by road S of San Francisco, 1600 m, 14 Apr 2000, Nee & Bohs 50768 (CORD, MO, NY); Valle Grande, ca. 1 km (by air) E on trail from San Francisco towards Altos de Calilegua, 1700 m, 18 Apr 2000, Nee & Bohs 50809 (BM, MO); Valle Grande, ca. 1 km (by air) E on trail from San Francisco towards Altos de Calilegua, 1700 m, 18 Apr 2000, Nee 50809 (MO); Salta: Santa Victoria, camino al Río San José, desde el desvio del camino de Los Toldos a Lipeo, 1823 m, 28 Sep 1998, Ahumada & Agüero 8178 (CORD).

Figures

Figure 24. Solanum calileguae Cabrera. (A-D drawn from Nee & Bohs 50809 E drawn from Nee & Bohs 50768). Illustration by Bobbi Angell.

Figure 25. Distribution of Solanum calileguae Cabrera.