Group characteristics

Prostrate or erect shrubs, with entire or shallowly lobed adult leaves. Stem prickles and branchlet prickles straight, widened or not at base. Stellate hairs present in all parts. Inflorescences not branched. Flowers all more or less bisexual, 5-merous, mauve or purple. Calyx with prickles. Corolla lobes glabrous on inner face. Stamens with anthers all of similar size. Ovary glabrous. Mature fruits brown, 10-20 mm diameter, 4-locular, mesocarp dry; calyx lobes exceeding and enclosing mature fruit.

Distribution

3 species endemic in Australia.

Australian members of group

Members of the S. echinatum group of Solanum subg. Leptostemonum (Bean 2004).

S. echinatum

S. longissimum

S. lucani

See Bean, A.R. (2004). The taxonomy and ecology of Solanum subg. Leptostemonum (Dunal)Bitter (Solanaceae) in Queensland and far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Austrobaileya 6: 639-816.