Illustration from Symon, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 147, fig. 53 (1981) as S. elegans

Distribution map generated from Australia's Virtual Herbarium.

Synonymy

Solanum limitare A.R.Bean, Telopea 9: 653 (2001)

T: Qld, adjacent to Mt Binga State Forest, 11 km S of Cooyar, 21 Feb 2000, A.R.Bean 16080; holo: BRI; iso: MEL, NSW.

S. elegans auct. non Dunal: Symon, J.Adelaide Bot.Gard. 4: 147 (1981), p.p. (as to illustration and collection, Constable 6466)

Solanum brownii auct. non Dunal: R.Purdie et al., Fl. Austral. 29: 158 (1982), p.p.

Description

 Erect, herbaceous resprouter, 0.3-0.8 m high. Juvenile branchlets with 10-30 prickles per dm, 2-7 mm long; leaves (in outline) lanceolate or ovate, shallowly to deeply lobed, with 1-3 pairs of lobes; lamina 6.5-13 cm long, 3-8 cm wide, with 5-15 prickles on upper surface. Adult branchlets grey or rusty; prickles 1-6 per dm, straight, acicular, 3-7 mm long, 7-9 times longer than wide; stellae very dense, 0.25-0.4 mm diameter, stalks 0-0.1 mm long; lateral rays 6-8, porrect; central ray absent or present, 0-0.5 times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent.

Adult leaves narrow lanceolate or lanceolate, entire; lamina 7-10.5 cm long, 0.9-1.7 cm wide, 4.5-8.5 times longer than broad, apex acute, base obtuse, oblique part 1-3.5 mm long, obliqueness index 1-4 percent; petioles 0.7-2.2 cm long, 8-30% length of lamina, prickles absent or present. Upper leaf surface grey-green; prickles 0-7, straight, acicular, 1-6 mm long, prickles absent or present on mid-vein only; stellate hairs distributed throughout; proto-stellae absent or present; ordinary stellae sparse to moderate density, 0.2-0.6 mm apart, 0.3-0.5 mm across, sessile; lateral rays 6-8, porrect; central ray 0-0.5 times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent. Lower leaf surface white or yellowish; prickles 0-6, straight, acicular, absent or present on mid-vein only; stellae very dense, c. 0.05 mm apart, 0.35-0.45 mm diameter, sessile; lateral rays 7 or 8, porrect; central ray 0.5-1 times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent.

Inflorescence supra-axillary, pseudo-racemose, common peduncle 0-5 mm long, rachis prickles absent; 3-8-flowered, weakly andro-monoecious, flowers 5-merous; pedicels 11-20 mm long at anthesis, same thickness throughout, 0.7-0.9 mm thick at mid-point, prickles absent. Calyx tube 2.5-4 mm long, lobes deltate or attenuate, 3-5 mm long; prickles absent or present at anthesis, 0-2 per flower, 1-4 mm long; stellae dense, transparent, 0.3-0.45 mm across, stalks 0-0.1 mm long, lateral rays 7 or 8, central ray 0.5-1 times as long as laterals, not glandtipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla purple, 9-15 mm long, rotate, inner surface sparsely stellate-hairy; anthers 3.5-5.5 mm long; ovary with stellate and Type 2 hairs; functional style 8-12 mm long, erect, with stellate hairs only, stellae 0.3-0.4 mm across, lateral rays 8-20, central ray 1-1.5 times as long as laterals.

Fruiting calyx with lobes less than half length of mature fruit, prickles absent. Mature fruits 1-3 per inflorescence, globular, 14-17 mm diameter, pale green with dark green streaks, 2-locular; placenta in cross-section stalked, anvil-shaped; mesocarp moist but not juicy; exocarp c. 0.5 mm thick; pedicels 16-20 mm long in fruit, 1.3-1.6 mm thick at midpoint; seeds white or pale yellow, 2.7-2.9 mm long.

Description by A.R.Bean, reproduced with permission from Austrobaileya 6: 780 (2004).

Another detailed description of this species by Bean can be found at http://delta-intkey.com/solanum/www/limitare.htm

Distribution and ecology

Found in an area defined by the Bunya Mts in Qld to the north and Kyogle in NSW to the south. Specimens below the arrow head in the AVH generated map above are presumably misidentified or wrongly plotted.

S. limitare occurs in grassy eucalypt forest adjacent to rainforest edges

Common name

Border Ranges Nightshade

Relationships

Closest to S. amblymerum but differing from that species by

• longer pedicels (11-20 mm long in flower, 16-20 mm in fruit), compared with 5-10 mm in flower and 9-13 mm in fruit for S. amblymerum
• ovary with glandular and stellate hairs compared with glandular hairs only in S. amblymerum

S. limitare was first treated as part of the S. brownii complex of species which are considered to be part of the S. macoorai group of subgen. Leptostemonum by Bean (2004).

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Notes

Line drawings can be found in D.E.Symon, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 147, fig. 53 (1981), as S. elegans and in A.R.Bean, Telopea 9: 647, fig. 3, e-g (2001).

Selected specimens

QLD: BURNETT DISTRICT: Bunya Mtns, Oct 1919, White s.n. (BRI). DARLING DOWNS DISTRICT: Highfield,Main Range, Dec 1875, Bancroft (BRI); Bunya Mtns, between Ghinghion Lookout and Summerhill View, Oct 1989, Bird (BRI); Condamine Gorge, Paddys Knob, Lot 13, Parish of Emuvale, Mar 1993, Sparshott KM40 (BRI); Mt Mitchell walking track, Jan 2003, Hines (BRI). MORETON DISTRICT: Mt Mistake, Jun 1887, Simmonds (BRI); Main Range, between Spring Bluff and Murphys Creek, Aug 1930, White 7017 (BRI); Ben Lomond Peak, Jan 1988, Bird (BRI); near Boonah border gate, Croftby road, Jan 1990, Forster 6210 (BRI); 3.6 km along Duck Creek road, near O’Reillys Guest House, Mar 2001, Bean 17393 (BRI).

NSW: NORTH COAST: Tooloom, Nov 1949, Webb 2188 (BRI); E of Mt Boorabee, near Kyogle, Jan 1963, Salasoo 2583 (NSW); 20 metres S of border fence, 2 km W of Mt Lindesay, Jan 2001, Bean 17238 (BRI, NSW).

As cited by Bean (2004).

Plant status, if any

Information on Solanum limitare as an endangered species in New South Wales can be found in the Schedules of the Threatened Species Conservation Act on the web page of NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

From the web