Species profile—Solanum sporadotrichum
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Solanaceae → Solanum sporadotrichum
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Scientific name
- Solanum sporadotrichum F.Muell.
- WildNet taxon ID
- 16123
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Near threatened
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Description
- Solanum sporadotrichum is an erect rhizomatous, perennial shrub growing 1.5 to 4 m high. The bark on the adult stems is furrowed, corky. The juvenile branchlets have up to 130 prickles per decimetre (dm), 1 to 5 mm long. The adult branchlets are brown, and the prickles are either absent or present, ranging from 0 to 3 straight, acicular prickles per dm, 4 to 7 mm long. The adult leaves are ovate, shallowly lobed throughout, with 3 or 4 obtuse lobes on each side. Petioles are 1 to 2.2 cm long, prickles are absent. The lamina is 6.5 to 11 cm long and 3.5 to 5.5 cm wide, the apex is obtuse or acute, the base is obtuse. The upper leaf surface is green, with 0 to 30 straight, acicular, prickles, 1 to 6 mm long, which if present are confined to the midvein only or present on the midvein and lateral veins; stellate hairs are distributed throughout. The lower lamina surface is green, with 0 to 15 straight, acicular, prickles, 1 to 6 mm long, which if present are confined to the midvein only or present on the midvein and lateral veins; stellate hairs moderately dense.
The inflorescence is supra-axillary, solitary or pseudo-racemose, with 3 to 7 weakly andromonoecious flowers. Peduncle is 11 to 16 mm long. Pedicels 5 to 10 mm long at anthesis. Calyx tube is 2 to 3 mm long, lobes are deltate or attenuate, 2.5 to 7.5 mm long. The corolla is purple, 7 to 12 mm long, shallowly or deeply lobed, the inner surface is glabrous. The mature fruits are globular, 13 mm in diameter, green and 1 to 2 per inflorescence. The mesocarp is moist but not juicy. The seeds are pale yellow, about 3 mm long (Purdie et al., 1982; Bean, 2004).
Solanum sporadotrichum is closely related to S. furfuraceum. Both species have a corky bark but S. furfuraceum has entire leaves (lobed in S. sporadotrichum) and S. furfuraceum has simple glandular hairs on the upper leaf surface, which are absent in S. sporadotrichum (Bean, 2004). - Distribution
- Solanum sporadotrichum is endemic to Queensland. In subcoastal areas the species extends from Magnetic Island (near Townsville) to Calder Island (50 km North East of Mackay). The species occurs west of Townsville from Fanning River Station, 25 km North east of Mingela to Mount Wickham. S. sporadotrichum occurs within Magnetic Island National Park, Gloucester island National Park, Dryander State Forest and Conway National Park Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -19.1234521, 146.3427813
-20.7734315, 149.6260709 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Solanum sporadotrichum grows in association with semi-evergreen vine thicket, notophyll rainforest or littoral rainforest with Brachychiton australis, Gyrocarpus americanus, Flindersia collina, Araucaria cunninghamii, Acacia fasciculifera and Drypetes deplanchei, or in eucalypt open forest or woodland. Soils are moderately to very fertile (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Reproduction
- Flowers have been recorded in Solanum sporadotrichum in January, May-July and September. Mature fruits have been recorded in May, June and August (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Threatening processes
- The species is more widespread than previously known and there are no documented threatening processes (Bean, 2004).
- Status notes
- Solanum sporadotrichum is listed as Near Threatened under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- Notes
- Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral districts: Moreton, North Kennedy (Bostock and Holland, 2010).
- References
- 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 (4): 767-768.
Bostock, P.D. and Holland, A.E. (eds) (2010). Census of the Queensland Flora 2010. Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Purdie, R.W., Symon, D.E. and Haegi, L. in George, A.S. (Ed) (1982). Flora of Australia 29: 156-157.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 11/01/2012. - Profile author
- Lynise Wearne (11/01/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=16123.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
