Lycianthes peduncularis [(Schltdl.) Bitter ]

Lycianthes peduncularis

Citation author:

(Schltdl.) Bitter

Citation:

Abh. Naturwiss. Vereine Bremen 24 [preprint]: 416. 1919.

Type:

Based on Solanum pedunculare Schltdl.

Last edited by:

Jennifer Poore

Written by:

Ellen Dean

Habit:

Perennial herb, prostate to decumbent, to 0.25 m tall and 0.5 m in diameter, dying back to large fusiform storage roots. Stems green with darker green and purple striations, generally nonwoody and much compressed when dried, moderately pubescent with white, uniseriate, multicellular, simple (rarely a few dendritically branched), curved, eglandular, usually appressed-ascending trichomes 0.1-1.25 mm long.

Sympodial structure:

First stem 0.5-7 cm long to the first inflorescence, 2-4 mm in diameter, leaves spirally arranged, internodes 4-6 (10) in number; first sympodial branching point dichasial, followed by a mixture of monochasial and dichasial branching, this branching extensive, usually resting on the soil surface. Upper sympodial stem units 0.5-8 cm long, 1.5-5.5 mm in diameter, difoliate, the leaves often geminate.

Leaves:

Leaves simple, usually paired and unequal in size, the larger ones with blades (1) 1.5-9 (14) x (0.5) 0.7-4 (7) cm, the smaller ones with blades 1/8-3/4 the size of the larger, the leaf pairs similar in shape, the blades ovate, elliptic, or obovate, thick chartaceous, sparsely to moderately pubescent with trichomes similar to those of the stem; major veins 3-5 on either side of the midvein; base truncate to cuneate, short to long attenuate on to the petiole, sometimes oblique; margin entire, usually slightly undulate; apex short acuminate to rounded; petioles winged and poorly defined, to 2 cm long, sometimes absent.

Inflorescences:

Flowers solitary, axillary, the axes sparsely to moderately pubescent with appressed-ascending curved trichomes 0.25-1 mm long; peduncles absent; pedicels (20) 30-115 mm and erect in flower, 33-180 mm long, deflexed and undulate in fruit.

Flowers:

Flowers 5-merous, all perfect, oriented horizontally. Calyx (1.5) 2-3.5 (4.5) mm long, (2.5) 3.25-4.5 mm in diameter, broadly cupulate, moderately pubescent, the margin truncate, with 10 linear, spreading to reflexed appendages (0.5) 1-4.5 (6) mm long emerging ca. 0.5 mm below the calyx rim; fruiting calyx enlarged, 5.5-12.5 mm long, (9.5) 12-25 mm in diameter, the appendages recurved, often making a complete loop, often broken, 1-12.5 mm long. Corolla 1.1-2.5 cm long (2.2–4.9 cm in diameter), rotate in orientation, mostly entire (with shallow notches) in outline, with abundant interpetalar tissue, white to lilac, with violet stripes along the major veins adaxially, green and moderately pubescent near the major veins abaxially. Stamens unequal, curved, the filaments of three different lengths, the two shortest filaments (1.25) 1.75–3 (4) mm long, the two medium filaments (1.5) 2.25–3.75 (5) mm long, the one long filament 2.5–5.5 (8.5) mm long, the length of the long filament 1.2-1.8 (2.5) times that of the medium filaments, glabrous; anthers (2.5) 3-5.5 (6.5) mm long, elliptic to ovate, rarely lanceolate or oblong, free of one another, yellow, glabrous, poricidal at the tips, the pores ovate to slit-like, dehiscing distally or toward the style, not opening into longitudinal slits; pollen tricolporate. Ovary glabrous; style 6-10.5 (12) mm, linear, curved downward; stigma round to shallowly lobed.

Fruits:

Fruit a berry, 9-24 mm long, 9-26 mm in diameter, round to ovoid, the exocarp green with purple or black lines (becoming yellowish in age), the mesocarp thin, green and juicy, with profuse sclerotic granules, 32-83 per fruit, round to angular, yellow, the placental area narrow, greenish-white, juicy; fruit matures while lying on the ground and remains attached to the calyx at maturity.

Seeds:

Seeds (12) 20-100 (143) per fruit, (2.5) 3-4 x 2.2-3.1 (3.7) mm, not compressed, oblong to depressed-ovate, smooth, ridged, dark brown to black, surface with serpentine pattern with microscopic fibrils protruding.

Chromosome number:

2n=24 (Dean 2004: voucher Dean & Solano 303.)

Distribution:

Lycianthes peduncularis occurs in Mexico (states of Guanajuato, Querétaro, Hidalgo, México, Puebla, and Oaxaca) on limestone soils, usually near a drainage on floodplain, in matorral vegetation, rarely pine/juniper woodland. Habitats include eroded floodplains, the sides of washes and canyons, rocky areas, paths, and within or at the sides of agricultural fields and pastures at 770-2500 m.

Phenology:

Flowering June through August; fruiting August to October. The author of this treatment has observed that the corollas open in the very early morning and close by noon.

Commentary:

Lycianthes peduncularis is recognized by its combination of prostrate to decumbent habit, simple, ascending-appressed trichomes, small calyces, and round, green fruit with maroon to black striations. The fruits have yellow sclerotic granules in the mesocarp. This species may once have had a broader and more continuous distribution on limestone soils. It is currently restricted to limestone soils on either side of the transvolcanic belt and to some eroded volcanic areas within the transvolcanic belt (rarely on rhyolite) (Rzedowski 1986). In addition, this species may tolerate other, more unusual, substrates. In Oaxaca, L. peduncularis has been collected near onyx and marble quarries. Several other localities are in or near mining areas. Some of the populations in Oaxaca are atypical in the size and shape of their leaves, the long length of the longest stamen filament, and the straight style.

This species was widely cultivated in German botanical gardens in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and an interesting article was written by the German botanist Purpus on how to cultivate the species (Purpus 1923). Currently, the type of Solanum pedunculare is a neotype at W from the Leipzig Botanical Garden designated by Dean (2004). In his monograph of Lycianthes, Bitter (1919) mentioned that the type material that he studied of S. pedunculare were mixed collections representing both L. moziniana and L. peduncularis (Bitter 1919). A discussion of the type material is provided in Dean et al. (2020).

References:

Anguiano-Constante MA, Munguía-Lino G, Ortiz E, Villaseñor JL, Rodríguez A (2018) Riqueza, distribución geográfica y conservación de Lycianthes serie Meizonodontae (Capsiceae, Solanaceae). Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 89(2): 516–529.

Bitter G. 1919. Die Gattung Lycianthes. Abhandlungen herausgegeban vom Naturwissenschaftlichen Verein zu Bremen 24 [preprint]: 292–520.

Dean, E. 2001. The post-anthesis floral biology of Lycianthes series Meizonodontae (Solanaceae): variation in filament elongation, anther dehiscence, floral movement, and corolla growth. In: van den Berg R, Barendse G, van der Weerden G, Maríani C (Eds) Solanaceae V, Advances in Taxonomy and Utilization. Nijmegen University Press, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 137–151.

Dean, E. 2004. A taxonomic revision of Lycianthes series Meizonodontae (Solanaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 145: 393-399. Dean, E., J. Poore, M. A. Anguiano-Constante, M. H. Nee, T. Starbuck, A. Rodrigues, and M. Conner. 2020. The genus Lycianthes (Solanaceae, Capsiceae) in Mexico and Guatemala. PhytoKeys 168: 1–333.

Purpus C. 1923. Lycianthes peduncularis Bitter, eine interessante Solanacee aus Mexiko. Möllers Deutsche Gärtner-Zeitung 17: 130. Rzedowski J. 1986. Las plantas calcícolas (incluyendo una gipsófita) del Valle de México y sus ligas con la erosión edáfica. Biotropica 18(1): 12-15.

Common names and uses:

Common names: trompeta, berenjena, chichi de perra, ojo de venado, tonchichi, tomatillo del monte (Dean, 2004).

Other information:

The pollen has a sweet scent. Solitary bees in the genera Exomalopsis and Ptiloglossa visit this species (Dean 2001).

Conservation status:

Lycianthes peduncularis is a common species ranging from northern to southern Mexico, represented by 64 collections and occurring in two protected areas (Yagul and Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley). The conservation status of this species was evaluated by Anguiano-Constante et al. (2018) and found to be Least Concern (LC).

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Solanaceae

Lycianthes peduncularis (Schltdl.) Bitter

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