Group characteristics

Large shrubs with entire or shallowly lobed adult leaves. Stem prickles and branchlet prickles curved, widened at base. Stellate hairs usually present in all parts. Inflorescences branched. Flowers more or less bisexual (weakly andromonoecious), all of similar size, 5-merous, white. Calyx without prickles. Corolla lobes sparingly or without hairs on inner face. Stamens with anthers all of similar size. Ovary with glandular hairs only. Mature fruits yellow-green, moist but not juicy, 2-3-locular, 12-17 mm diameter; calyx lobes about half length of mature fruit.

Distribution

3 species endemic in Australia.

Note

In a Brazilian study of the section, Miz et al. (2008) showed section Torva to be a monophyletic group close to S. melongena and S. sisymbriifolium.

Miz, R.B., Mentz, L.A. & Souza-Chies, T.T. (2008). Overview of the phylogenetic relationships of some southern Brazilian species from section Torva and related sections of “spiny Solanum” (Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum, Solanaceae). Genetica 132: 143-158.

Australian members of group

Members of the S. torvum group of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum

*S. chrysotrichum

*S. torvum

See Bean, A.R. (2004). The taxonomy and ecology of Solanum subg. Leptostemonum (Dunal)Bitter (Solanaceae) in Queensland and far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Austrobaileya 6: 639-816.