Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav., Icon. 3: 22, tab. 243. 1795.

Aubriot, Xavier & Knapp, Sandra, 2022, A revision of the " spiny solanums " of Tropical Asia (Solanum, the Leptostemonum Clade, Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 198, pp. 1-270 : 1

13. Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav., Icon. 3: 22, tab. 243. 1795.

Fig. 20B-D

Type.

Cultivated in Madrid from "America calidiore" ["del viaje de los espanoles alrededor del mundo, Cult. en el R. J. Bot. 1793"], Anonymous s.n. (lectotype, designated by Knapp 2007, pg. 198: MA [MA-476348-2]; isolectotype: MA [MA-476348-1) .

Description.

Knapp et al. (2017: 22-46); http://www.solanaceaesource.org/solanaceae/solanum-elaeagnifolium.

Distribution.

Solanum elaeagnifolium has been rather widely collected in India (states of Karnakata, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh); it is native to North and South America but widely adventive and invasive elsewhere (see Knapp et al. 2017).

Discussion.

Although we have only seen S. elaeagnifolium specimens from India and Pakistan to date, we suspect this invasive species will become more widespread with time. Solanum elaeagnifolium is a plant of dry habitats and can become established easily through vegetative reproduction. It is easy to distinguish from native spiny solanums in tropical Asia by its silvery pubescence of lepidote trichomes and relatively narrowly elliptic leaves. It can form large stands in disturbed areas via rhizomes.

Specimens examined.

See Suppl. materials 1-3.

Figures

Figure 20. Solanum dunalianum Gaudich. Herbarium specimen collected in Indonesia in 1917 (Kaudern 57, L. 4319974). Photograph credit: Naturalis Biodiversity Center.