Solanum multiinterruptum

Citation author:

Bitter

Citation:

Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 12: 56. 1913.

Type:

Peru. [Lima. Prov. Canta]: Huamantanga, 11,000 ft,, “wild, blue flowered”, J. McClean s.n. (holotype: K [K000000594; Correll neg 720, F-1603594!, LL!, NY!, UC1152358!], isotype: K [K000005943; Correll neg. 72, F-1604871!, LL!, MO-5594444!, NY!, UC1152358!; drawing at GOET; Correll neg. 719, F-1603593!, LL!, NY, UC1152358!]).

Last edited by:

David M. Spooner

Written by:

David M. Spooner

Habit:

Herbs 30-120 cm tall, ascending to erect. Tubers typically borne singly at the end of each stolon [occasionally submoniliform; Ochoa, 1999]. Stems 3-10 mm in diameter at base of plant, unwinged or with wings up to 2 mm wide, green to green and purple mottled, subglabrous to subglabrous with at most only very scattered short non-glandular hairs. Pseudostipules 5-17 mm long, lunate, glabrous to subgladrous like the stem.

Sympodial structure:

Sympodial units plurifoliate, the leaves not geminate.

Leaves:

Leaves 11-28 cm long, 5-16 cm wide, odd-pinnate, medium to dark green, chartaceous, subglabrous with at the most short pointed non-glandular hairs above and below; petioles 0.5-2.5 cm long, subglabrous as the stem; lateral leaflet pairs 3-4, typically subequal except the most proximal pair reduced in size; most distal lateral leaflets 3.5-9.0 cm long, 2.0-4.5 cm wide, elliptic to broadly obovate, the apex acute to acuminate or blunt and almost rounded, the base symmetrical to oblique, cuneate, typically sessile or attenuate on the rachis, or with petiolules to 2 mm long; terminal leaflet 4.5-10 cm long, 2.0-5.5 cm wide, subequal to slightly larger than the most distal lateral leaflets, broadly ovate, the apex acute to acuminate, the base symmetrical, cuneate and often with small interjected leaflets at the base, sessile or with petiolules up to 1 mm long; interjected leaflets common with up to 8 between each set of lateral leaflets.

Inflorescences:

Inflorescences 10-25 cm long, terminal with a subtending bud, generally borne in distal half of plant, typically forked, with 8-15 flowers; peduncle 6-20 cm long; pedicels 20-45 mm long in flower and fruit, articulated at or somewhat distal to the middle, sometimes within 4 mm of the apex of the pedicel.

Flowers:

Flowers 5-merous, all perfect. Calyx 5-8 mm long, the lobes 3-6 mm long, long attenuate to acute, the acumens 2.3 mm long, pubescent as the stem. Corolla 2.5-4.5 cm in diameter, rotate to rotate-pentagonal, blue to purple or white to cream-white, often with white to green to pale violet star adaxially, the acumens 1-5 mm long, sometimes white. Anthers 8-10 mm long. Style 12-14 mm long, exceeding stamens by 2-5 mm, straight to curved, glabrous; stigma capitate to clavate.

Fruits:

Fruit a globose to slightly ovoid berry, 1.5-3.3 cm long, 1.6-3.5 cm wide, pure green to green with scattered white dots.

Chromosome number:

2n = 2x = 24 (Ochoa 11314, F, NY).

Distribution:

Solanum multiinterruptum is endemic to central Peru from the Departments of Ancash, Huancavelica, and Lima; in a wide range of habitats, often among rocks and among boulders, and in from grasslands, among cacti or shrubs and herbs; 2675-3900 m.

Phenology:

Flowering and fruiting from February to May.

Phylogeny:

Solanum multiinterruptum is a member of Solanum sect. Petota Dumort., the tuber-bearing cultivated and wild potatoes. Within sect. Petota, Solanum multiinterruptum is a member of a distinctive clade of southern Ecuadorian and Peruvian species formerly classified in series Piurana and some other series that frequently possess moniliform tubers and shiny coriaceous leaves (Ames et al. 2008; Ames and Spooner 2010; Spooner et al. 2014). On a higher taxonomic level, it is a member of the informally-named Potato Clade, a group of perhaps 200-300 species that also includes the tomato and its wild relatives (Bohs 2005).

Commentary:

Ames and Spooner (2010) showed S. multiinterruptum to be a member of the distinctive clade of southern Ecuadorian and Peruvian species formerly classified in series Piurana and some other series that frequently possess moniliform tubers and shiny coriaceous leaves. However, this species lacks moniliform tubers and has chartaceous, not coriaceous leaves, but the leaves are subglabrous like many members of this clade and Ochoa (1999) mentions that the tubers can be “submoniliform”.

Solanum multiinterruptum was considered to a very diverse species (Ochoa, 1999), a decision followed by Spooner et al. (2014). Some of the more pubescent morphotypes of this species were given names that we now here place as synonyms of S. candolleanum (Solanum multiinterruptum f. longipilosum and S. multiinterruptum var. machyanbinum).

References:

Ames, M., A. Salas, and D.M. Spooner. 2008. A morphometric study of species boundaries of the wild potato Solanum series Piurana (Solanaceae) and putatively related species from seven other series in Solanum sect. Petota. Syst. Bot. 33: 566-578.

Ames, M., and D.M. Spooner. 2010. Phylogeny of Solanum series Piurana and related species in Solanum section Petota based on five conserved ortholog sequences. Taxon. 59: 1091-1104 + 4-pg. foldout (tree).

Bohs, L. 2005. Major clades in Solanum based on ndhF sequences. Pp. 27-49 in R. C. Keating, V. C. Hollowell, & T. B. Croat (eds.), A festschrift for William G. D’Arcy: the legacy of a taxonomist. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Vol. 104. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

Ochoa, C.M. 1999. Las Papas de Sudamerica: Peru (Parte I). Lima: International Potato Center.

Spooner, D.M., M. Ghislain, R. Simon, S.H. Jansky, and T. Gavrilenko. 2014. Systematics, diversity, genetics, and evolution of wild and cultivated potatoes. Bot. Rev. 80: 283-383.

Taxonomic name:

Solanum multiinterruptum (Solanaceae)

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Solanum multiinterruptum

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