7407.000 Solanum L. - Nightshades

LYCOPERSICON Mill.

Description of the genus

Herbs, shrubs, climbers or trees, unarmed or spiny, often stellate-hairy. Stipules 0, but Solanum mauritianum has prominent pseudostipules. Leaves alternate, entire, lobed to pinnatisect or pinnate. Inflorescences often extra-axillary, mostly racemose or umbellate cymes or terminal panicles. Calyx (4-)5-10-toothed or lobed, not or only slightly enlarging in fruit. Corolla often rotate, (4-)5(-6)-lobed, white, yellow, blue or purple. Filaments shorter than anthers; anthers often connivent, dehiscing by apical pores, Ovary 2(-4)-locular. Fruit a ± spherical berry.

Derivation of name: Ex Latin; solamen, quieting, alluding to the sedative properties

Worldwide: 1700 species, more or less cosmopolitan, especially in warm countries

Zambia: 7 cultivated taxa.

The larvae of the following species of insect eat species of this genus:
Acherontia atropos (Death's head hawk)
Antigastra catalaunalis (Red-veined pearl)
Solanum lycopersicum

Links to cultivated taxa    View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
aethiopicum L.Description
lycopersicum L.Description, Image
melongena L.
muricatum Aiton
scabrum Mill.
wendlandii Hook. f.
wrightii Benth.

Other sources of information about Solanum:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Solanum
Flora of Caprivi: Solanum
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Malawi: Solanum
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Mozambique: Solanum
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Solanum
Flora of Zambia: Solanum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Solanum
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Solanum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Solanum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Solanum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Solanum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Solanum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Solanum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Solanum
JSTOR Plant Science: Solanum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Solanum
Plants of the World Online: Solanum
Tropicos: Solanum
Wikipedia: Solanum

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Cultivated plants: genus page: Solanum.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/cult/genus.php?genus_id=1249, retrieved 28 March 2024

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