Solanum cordioides
In Southern Atlantic wet forest in coastal Bahia, only known from the Reserva do Mico-Leão in the muncipio of Una at sea level or slightly above.
Solanum cordioides is a member of the Solanum nudum species group (Knapp, 2002) of the Geminata clade (Bohs, 2005).
Thomas, W.W., A.M. V. de Carvalho, A.M.A. Amorim, J. Garrison & A.L. Arbaláez 1998. Plant endemism in two forests in southern Bahia, Brazil.
Biodiv. Cons. 7: 311-322.
Knapp, S. 2002. Solanum section Geminata (G. Don) Walpers (Solanaceae).
Flora Neotropica 84: 1-405.
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.
Solanum cordioides is a very distinctive species, with its shiny elliptic leaves and small greenish-white flowers. It is most similar and probably related to S. acuminatum of central Peru, with which it shares branched, usually internodal inflorescences, and short, stout anthers. It differs from S. acuminatum in being completely glabrous. The species is named for its marked likeness to some species of Cordia (Boraginaceae), for which it has been misidentified in the past. It appears to be endemic to the Una Reserve, which is home to many other species endemic to the Atlantic coastal forests of Bahia and Espiritu Santo (Thomas et al., 1998).