Solanum velleum
Not known
Solanum velleum is found in southeastern Brazil in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in forests and forest margins from 1100 to 2100 m.
Solanum velleum is a member of the Leptostemonum clade (sensu Levin et al., 2006; Weese & Bohs, 2007) based on overall morphology, but its relationships have not yet been tested using molecular data. Whalen (1984) included this species in his S. erythrotrichum group (as S. pelliceum). Agra (2004) places this species in her subsection Rhytidoandrum.
Thunberg, C. 1818. Plantarum Brasiliensium. Vol. 2.
Uppsala.
Sendtner, O. 1846. Solanaceae.
Pp. 1-228 in C. P. F. von Martius, Flora Brasiliensis. 10: 5-338. C. Wolf, Munich, Germany.
Whalen, M.D. 1984. Conspectus of species groups in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum.
Gentes Herbarum 12 (4): 179-282.
Agra, M.F. 2004. Sinopse Taxonômica de Solanum sect. Erythrotrichum (Solanaceae).
Pages 192-211, in Rangel-Ch, J.O; Aguirre-C, J.; Andrade-C., M.G. & Giraldo-Cañas (Eds). Memorias octavo congreso Latinoamericano Y Segundo Colombiano de Botánica. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales.
Levin, R.A., N.R. Myers, & L. Bohs 2006. Phylogenetic relationships among the "spiny" solanums (Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum).
Amer. J. Bot. 93: 157-169.
Weese, T.L. & L. Bohs 2007. A Three-Gene Phylogeny of the Genus Solanum (Solanaceae)
Syst. Bot. 32(2): 445-463.
Solanum velleum is a shrub or treelet, and can be recognised by the dense hirsute reddish-brown to rusty indument on the entire plant. Leaf shape and pubescence are very variable in S. velleum, especially between juvenile and adult plants. Juvenile plants have heavily armed stems, and repand, ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves with a hirsute, reddish brown indument of porrect stellate trichomes that are glandular, sessile to long-stalked to 4 mm, with a multicellular midpoint. Stems of adult plants are generally unarmed, and leaves are generally elliptic, velutinous rather than hirsute and smaller than leaves from juvenile plants. The morphological extremes in S. velleum are so distinct that they have been described as distinct taxa. A series of field observations and collections (Agra & Stehmann 5344, 5345) clearly show this variation to be gradual and with intermediates in the key characters, evidence for this being infraspecific variation.
Many specimens of Solanum leptostachys, a mid-sized tree with long simple inflorescences of small violet flowers have been misidentified as S. velleum. Solanum leptostachys is of uncertain affinities (Whalen, 1984) but is likely a member of the Polytrichum group and has the same distribution as S. velleum. Many specimens of S. leptostachys have been misidentified as S. velleum, so care must be taken with determinations, especially in on-line catalogues.
Solanum velleum was described by Thunberg (1818) based on material from Vila Rica, Minas Gerais, Brazil collected by D. Freyreis. Roemer & Schultes (1819) erroneously attributed this name to Swartz, citing the same Freyreis collection. This appears to have been a simple error of attribution and not an intentional coining of a new name.
The lectotype selected for Solanum pelliceum in BR has both flowers and fruit and bears a “Flora Brasilensis” label in Sendtner’s hand. Sendtner (1846) did not specify a collection of his S. decorum var. lanuginosum, but a specimen in W (Pohl 3608) with a manuscript annotation of “S. decorum ? lanuginosum” could be original material and is a logical choice for a neotype.