Solanum wendlandii
Diagnostic description 4
Solanum wendlandii Hook. f., Bot. Mag. t. 6914. 1887.
Slightly woody vine, scandent, attainig several meters in length. Stems cylindrical, glabrous, unarmed or less frequently with some minute recurved spines. Leaves alternate, deeply (3)5-7-pinnatilobate or sometimes simple, 4.5-7.5-17 × 4.6-12 cm, membranaceous, glabrous, with numerous minute dots, elliptical when simple, 4.5-14 × 4.6-7.5, the apex short-acuminate, the base obtuse to almost rounded; segments or lobes elliptical or oblong-elliptical, usually asymmetrical, the apex acute or acuminate, the margins entire; lower surface dull, the primary vein prominent, sometimes with recurved spines; petioles glabrous, 3-6.5 cm long, usually narrowly winged, sometimes with recurved spines. Flowers unisexual, in terminal pseudodichotomous panicles, 8-20 cm long, glabrous; pedicels glabrous, 1-1.7 cm long. Staminate flowers: calyx green, cyathiform, glabrous, 5-7 mm long, with 5 ovate-deltate or ovate lobes, 1-3 mm long, apiculate at the apex; corolla lavender, rotate, pentagonal, 3.5-6 cm wide, the lobes apiculate, ciliate; anthers oblong, 9-10.5 mm long, not connivent, dehiscent by terminal pores and by longitudinal sutures, the filaments thick, unequal. Pistillate flowers and fruits not observed.
Phenology: Collected in flower from April to October.
Status: Exotic, cultivated as an ornamental and escaped from cultivation (according to Liogier, 1995), although not very common. The plants of this species that are found in cultivation seem to be all male, and apparently reproduce asexually.
Distribution 5
Distribution: In moist areas of the cordilleras. Native to Costa Rica, but widely cultivated in the tropics for the beauty of its flowers.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Dick Culbert, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/11396977395_8f5e921d2f_o.jpg
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10365015
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10361062
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435541
- (c) Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/28435960
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- African Plants - a photo guide
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Calflora
- CalPhotos
- Catalogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Jepson eFlora
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- World Flora Online
