Group characteristics

Small herbaceous shrubs usually with shallowly or deeply lobed adult leaves, rarely these entire. Stem prickles and branchlet prickles straight, not widened at base. Stellate hairs present at least on stems and floral parts. Inflorescences not branched. Flowers bisexual or mixed bisexual and male, all of similar size, 5-merous, white, mauve or purple. Calyx with prickles. Corolla lobes without hairs on inner face. Stamens with anthers all of similar size. Ovary glabrous, with stellate hairs only, with multicellular glandular hairs only, rarely with a mixture of stellate and glandular hairs. Mature fruits yellow to yellow-green, mesocarp moist not juicy, 1-2-locular, 10-30 mm diameter; calyx lobes about half length of mature fruit.

Distribution

19 species endemic in Australia.

Note

The presence of S. campanulatum in this group is not supported by the molecular study of Martine et al. (2006). Rather its closest relationships seem to be with two other andromonoecious species from easternAustralia, S. stupefactum and S. cinereum.

Australian members of group

Members of the S. hystrix group of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum (Bean 2004).

S. adenophorum

S. campanulatum

S. cookii

S. ditrichum

S. eardleyae

S. eremophilum

S. graniticum

S. hoplopetalum

S. hystrix

S. lacunarium

S. multiglochidiatum

S. oligandrum

S. papaverifolium

S. petrophilum

S. prinophyllum

S. pungetium

S. pusillum

S. stenopterum

S. vicinum

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.