Synonymy

Solanum corifolium F. Muell., Fragm. Phytogr. Austral. 2: 166 (1861)

T: Araucaria Ranges, Moreton Bay, Qld; lecto: MEL, iso: K, TCD; fide D.E. Symon, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 135 (1981).

S. ×shirleyanum Domin, Biblioth. Bot. 89: 578 (1929).

T: Tambourine Mtns, southern Qld, Mar. 1910, K. Domin s.n.; syn: PR n.v.

?S. discolor var. procumbens C.White, Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland 55: 71 (1944), p.p. [previously assigned to this species in Symon (1981), but now treated ?wholly as a synonym of S. mentiens - the identity of the White specimen cited here is not known (not cited by Bean) but given its collecting locality it seems unlikely to be S. mentiens ]

T: Upper Teviot, Darling Downs District, Qld, B. Scortechini s.n.; holo: MEL (= S. mentiens ); Kin Kin, Wide Bay, Jan. 1917, C.T. White s.n.; n.v.

S. discolor auct. non R.Br.; Symon, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 140 (1981), p.p.

Description

Erect or sprawling shrub to 1.5 m, dark green, pubescent with stellate hairs; hairs dense on lower leaf-surface, absent or confined to veins on upper surface; prickles to 1 cm long, scattered to abundant on stems, few or absent elsewhere.

Leaves elliptic; lamina 5–10 cm long, 2–5 cm wide, sometimes larger, discolorous, the lower ones shallowly lobed, upper ones entire or almost so; petiole 5–10 mm long.

Inflorescence few–12–flowered; peduncle c. 5 mm long; rachis up to 10 mm long; pedicels 10–12 mm long. Calyx 4–6 mm long; lobes oblong, 2–3 mm long. Corolla stellate, deeply incised, 20 mm diam., white or violet. Anthers 4–5 mm long.

Berry globular, 10–15 mm diam., bright red. Seeds 2–3.5 mm diam., pale yellow or pale orange. n=12.

Distribution and ecology

Occurs predominantly in south-eastern Qld as far north as Bundaberg and Biloela, with isolated occurences near Proserpine, Ingham and Mareeba, and also in north-eastern N.S.W.

Common in mixed rainforest in mountainous areas.

Common name

Straggling nightshade

Relationships

Closely related to S. discolor R. Br. and earlier circumscriptions of S. discolor (Symon 1981) included elements now treated within S. corifolium.

The species are distinguished by the presence of some male flowers in S. discolor but none in S. corifolium, by the smaller flowers of S. discolor (6-14 mm diameter compared with 16-20 mm in S. corifolium), the ovary with glandular hairs in S. corifolium (glabrous in S. discolor ) and by the mostly smaller fruits of S. corifolium (7-12 mm diameter) compared with those of S. discolor (10-14 mm diam.). The hair type also differs (see Bean 2004) and their distributions do not overlap.

S. corifolium is placed in the S. ferocissimum group of subgen. Leptostemonum together with S. chenopodinum, S. defensum, S. discolor, S. dissectum, S. dryanderense, S. dysprosium, S. ferocissimum, S. fervens, S. inaequilaterum, S. latens, S. lythrocarpum, S. mentiens, S. parvifolium, S. shirleyanum, S. stelligerum and S. yirrkalense (Bean 2004).

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Selected specimens

Qld: D'Aguilar Range, V.K. Moriarty 907 (BRI); Laceys Creek, L.J. Webb & J.G. Tracey 10738 (AD). N.S.W.: SSW of Alstonville, S. Clark, J. Pickard & R. Coveny 1260 (NSW).

Specimens cited in Flora of Australia (1982)

QLD: COOK DISTRICT: between Rocky River and Massey Creek, Sep 1973, Stocker 1072 (BRI); Mapoon, S of Cullen Point, Port Musgrave, Feb 1981, Morton AM1075 (BRI); S bank of Pennefather River, Aug 1983, Clarkson 4914 (BRI); 0.7 km W of Bolt Head, Jul 1990, Clarkson 8806 & Neldner (BRI); 3.5 km NNE of Massey Ck crossing, ‘Silver Plains’ station, Jul 1993, Forster PIF13614 et al. (BRI); 6 km W of the Rocky River mouth, 36.2 km ENE of Coen, ‘Silver Plains’ holding, Aug 1993, Fell DGF3479 et al. (BRI, MEL); ‘Silver Plains’, S of Scrubby Creek and W of Colmer Point, Jun 1995, Forster Mt Glorious, May 1923, White 1953 (BRI); Binna Burra, Lamington N.P., Apr 1959, Thorne 20408 (BRI); S.F.289, Yarraman, Feb 1972, Moriarty 879 (BRI); Palm Grove N.P., Tamborine Mountain, Jul 1983, Guymer 1868 & McDonald (AD, BRI, GUAM); Nineteen L.A., T.R.209, Mt Brisbane, Jun 1990, Forster PIF6862 et al. (BRI, L, MEL, QRS); Murray Grey Drive, Dulong, W of Nambour, Jan 2000, Bean 16004 (BRI); Wilkie’s Scrub, Wongawallan, 7 km W of Coomera, Jul 2001, Bean 17691 (BRI). NSW:NORTH COAST. Richmond River, anno 1876, Fawcett s.n. (NSW).

Specimens cited by Bean (2004).

From the web

Extra images of S. corifolium can be accessed through the Bean description of this species at http://delta-intkey.com/solanum/www/corifoli.htm

A photograph of this species by Hugh & Nan Nicholson can be seen on the Terania Rainforest Publishing Photo Library site.

Further information on this species in NSW can be seen on the PlantNET site.

Further information and links for this species can be found on the Solanaceae Source site.