Solanum oligacanthum

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Solanum oligacanthum
Solanum Oligacanthum-Marja Bouman.jpg
Shrubs full extent
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species:
S. oligacanthum
Binomial name
Solanum oligacanthum
Solanum Oligacanthum Distribution Map Australia.jpg
Distribution within Australia based off data provided from Atlas of Living Australia [2]

Solanum oligacanthum is a species of herbaceous perennial herb or subshrub which is spread throughout central east Australia (South-West Queensland, North-West New South Wales, and North-East South Australia). [3] This species is often found in seasonally flooded creek channels, flats and lagoons, and commonly referred to as desert nightshade. [3] [4]

Contents

Description

Solanum oligacanthum is an erect, colonial, herbacious perennial species. [3] It grows up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in heaight. This species is of pale grey-green colour, resulting from densely pubescent stellate hairs up to 16 mm (0.63 in) long.

Its leaves are broadly ovate, [5] 7–20 mm (0.28–0.79 in) wide and long, with the apex obtuse and rounded, and the base obtuse to cordate.

The corollas is purple and rotate (20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) diameter), containing the yellow [6] anthers arranged in the centre forming a cone-like structure. [7]

Its seeds are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long, black or dark-brownish in colour.

Ecology

Solanum oligacanthum grows in arid shrub lands within Australia. [8] New growth occurs in spring, and most top growth dies down over winter leaving dead stubble.

This species, like most Solanum, pollinates through a process known as buzz pollination. [6]

It is classified as a weed within some parts of South Australia. [5]

Distribution and conservation status

Desert nightshade is distributed predominately within central eastern Australia, spread between South-West Queensland, North-West New South Wales, and North-East South Australia, with some being found on the Eastern Coast of South Australia as well. [3] There is no conservation status listed for Solanum oligacanthum [9] so it is assumed this species conservation is of low-concern.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buzz pollination</span> Technique used by bees to release pollen

Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees and bumblebees, to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers. The anthers of buzz-pollinated plant species are typically tubular, with an opening at only one end, and the pollen inside is smooth-grained and firmly attached. With self-fertile plants such as tomatoes, wind may be sufficient to shake loose the pollen through pores in the anther and accomplish pollination. Visits by bees may also shake loose some pollen, but more efficient pollination of those plants is accomplished by a few insect species who specialize in sonication or buzz pollination.

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<i>Solanum americanum</i> Species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae

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<i>Halgania</i> Genus of flowering plants in the borage family Boraginaceae

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<i>Thelymitra crinita</i> Species of orchid

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<i>Solanum rostratum</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Solanum prinophyllum</i> Species of herb

Solanum prinophyllum, known as the forest nightshade or Grin Whiskers, is a accepted species of small plant native to the east coast of East Victoria to Southeast Queensland, Australia. S. prinophyllum is a short lived herb, annual or perennial. Forest nightshade grows up to 50 cm high. Its leaves are 5 to 8 cm long and 3 to 5 cm wide. They are spiky and often tinged with purple. The stems are also spiky. Five petalled flowers occur at any time of the year and are blue or lilac in colour. Petals are fused at the base. The fruit is around 15 to 20 mm in diameter and the stem is 10 to 20 mm long. The fruit is a berry, which stays green or turns purple. The habitat is moist areas, in sclerophyll forest, or disturbed areas in rainforest.

<i>Casuarina pauper</i> Species of plant

Casuarina pauper, commonly known as black oak, belah or kariku, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to southern continental Australia. It is a dioecious tree with fissured or scaly bark, waxy branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 9 to 13, the fruit 13–18 mm (0.51–0.71 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 5.5–7.0 mm (0.22–0.28 in) long.

<i>Solanum scabrum</i> Species of flowering plant

Solanum scabrum, also known as garden huckleberry, is an annual or perennial plant in the nightshade family. The geographic origin of the species is uncertain; Linnaeus attributed it to Africa, but it also occurs in North America, and it is naturalized in many countries. In Africa it is cultivated as a leaf vegetable and for dye from the berries.

<i>Acacia cana</i> Species of legume

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<i>Acacia ramulosa</i> Species of plant

Acacia ramulosa, commonly known as horse mulga or bowgada wattle, is a shrub belonging to the genus Acacia and the subgenus Juliflorae endemic to arid areas of Australia.

<i>Stackhousia clementii</i> Species of herb

Stackhousia clementii is a species of plant in the family Celastraceae and is native to Australia.

<i>Thelymitra epipactoides</i> Species of orchid

Thelymitra epipactoides, commonly called the metallic sun orchid, is a species of orchid that is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It has a single relatively large, leathery leaf and up to twenty large flowers that range in colour from pink to reddish but have a distinctive arrangement of lobes above the anther.

Thelymitra psammophila, commonly called the sandplain sun orchid, is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has a single narrow leaf and up to five yellow flowers with an orange anther and brown arms on the side of the column.

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<i>Solanum sturtianum</i> Species of plant

Solanum sturtianum, commonly known as Sturt’s nightshade or Thargomindah nightshade, is a flowering plant from the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. Distinct by its purple flowers and dark-black fruits, it is a shrub endemic to the arid zones of mainland Australia.

<i>Solanum esuriale</i> Native Australian plant

Solanum esuriale is a species of perennial herbaceous plant native to Australia.

<i>Solanum petrophilum</i> Species of plant

Solanum petrophilum, commonly known as rock nightshade or prickly nightshade, is an Australian native perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the family Solanaceae. Solanaceae has a worldwide distribution and also contains important food species such as the tomato, peppers, and potatoes.

<i>Solanum acerifolium</i> Species of shrub

Solanum acerifolium is a species of small flowering shrub that belongs to the Solanaceae family, commonly known as the nightshade family. The species description was first published by a French botanist, Michel Félix Dunal in 1816.

References

  1. "Solanum oligacanthum F.Muell". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  2. "Search: species: Solanum oligacanthum | Occurrence records | Atlas of Living Australia". biocache.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Alexander, George (1982). "Solanaceae" (PDF). Floral of Australia. 29.
  4. "Species: Solanum oligacanthum (Desert Nightshade)".
  5. 1 2 Walsh, Nevlille (February 10, 2021). "Flora of Victoria". VicFlora.
  6. 1 2 Vallejo-Marín, Mario; Pereira Nunes, Carlos Eduardo; Russell, Avery Leigh (1 May 2022). "Anther cones increase pollen release in buzz-pollinated Solanum flowers". Evolution. 76 (5): 931–945. doi:10.1111/evo.14485. ISSN   0014-3820. PMC   9313847 . PMID   35324004.
  7. Faegri, Knut (January 1986). "The solanoid flower". Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 45 (sup1): 51–59. doi:10.1080/03746608608684993. ISSN   0374-6607.
  8. "Conservation Management Zones of Australia: Arid Shrublands and Desert".
  9. "Species Profile and Threats Database". Australian Government – Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water.