Species profile—Solanum johnsonianum
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Solanaceae → Solanum johnsonianum
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Scientific name
- Solanum johnsonianum A.R.Bean
- WildNet taxon ID
- 29787
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Endangered
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) status
- Endangered
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- Plus spirit, status annotated by author
- Description
- Solanum johnsonianum is an erect rhizomatous, perennial shrub growing 0.15 to 0.3 m high without prickles. The adult branchlets are grey to rusty or brown; with very dense stellae, 0.4 to 0.5 mm in diameter. The adult leaves are broadly ovate and entire. The lamina is 2.5 to 6 cm long and 1.3 to 4.3 cm wide, the apex is obtuse and the base is obtuse or cordate. The petioles are 0.9 to 2.8 cm long, 30 to 55% the length of the lamina. The upper leaf surface is green; stellate hairs are distributed throughout. The lower leaf surface is greenish-white or white, stellae is dense to very dense. The inflorescence is supra-axillary, solitary or pseudo-racemose, with 1 or 2 bisexual flowers. Peduncle is 0-2 mm long. Pedicels 4 to 7 mm long at anthesis. The calyx tube is 1 to 3 mm long, lobes are elliptic, 4 to 6.5 mm long, with very dense yellow stellae. The corolla is mauve, 6 to 11 mm long, rotate or shallowly lobed, the inner surface is glabrous. Mature fruits are globular, 5.5 to 8 mm in diameter, red, 1 to 2 per inflorescence. The mesocarp is juicy and succulent; the exocarp is 0.3 to 0.5 mm thick. The seeds are pale yellow, 2.2 to 2.8 mm long (Bean, 2004).
Solanum johnsonianum is considered to be most closely related to S. nemophilum and S. innoxium. It differs from the former by the lack of glandular hairs on the upper leaf surface as well as in characteristics of the stellate hairs and from the latter by wider leaves, longer petioles and sometimes by the presence of gland-tipped stellate hairs on the calyx (Bean, 2004). - Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Solanum johnsonianum is endemic to Queensland. There are nine documented populations distributed over a distance of approximately 100 km, extending from north-west of Theodore to north of Jambin (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -24.0291666, 149.6589722
-24.8234153, 150.3807917 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Solanum johnsonianum is distributed within communities dominated or co-dominated by Acacia harpophylla (Brigalow), on heavy cracking soils. Other associated species include Eucalyptus thozetiana with understorey of Geijera parviflora (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Behaviour
- Solanum johnsonianum occurs often after fire or disturbance (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Reproduction
- Flowering of Solanum johnsonianum has been recorded in March-June and August-September. Fruiting has been recorded in April and May (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Threatening processes
- Solanum johnsonianum has disappeared from previous localities, and recent data suggests the species is currently known from 3 locations, which include the Brigalow Research Station, where the species is under threat from abnormally intensive grazing from wallabies. The other two populations are threatened by weeds (pasture grasses) and land clearance (Bean, 2004; Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Status notes
- Solanum johnsonianum is listed as Endangered under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- 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): 676-678.
Bostock, P.D. and Holland, A.E. (eds) (2010). Census of the Queensland Flora 2010. Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Resource Management, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 11/01/2012. - Profile author
- Lynise Wearne (10/01/2012)
Other resources
- Species Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT)
- The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)
- Atlas of Living Australia
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=29787.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
