Solanum lacunarium

F.Muell. Lagoon Nightshade
Trans. Philos. Soc. Victoria 1: 18 (1855)
Taxonomic status Accepted
Occurrence status Present
Origin Native
Degree of establishment Native
Threat status
FFG: Endangered (EN)

Erect or sprawling perennial herb to 25 cm high, grey-green, pubescent with minute stellate hairs; prickles to 6 mm long, reddish, straight, most abundant on leaves and petioles, usually less common elsewhere. Leaves elliptic, mostly 1–9 cm long, 0.5–3 cm wide, shallowly to deeply lobed, discolorous, upper surface sparsely pubescent, lower surface more densely pubescent; lobes more or less oblong, margins entire to shallowly lobed; petiole 1.5–4 cm long. Inflorescences simple, 4–10-flowered; peduncle 1–3 cm long. Flowers on pedicels 8–10 mm long; calyx 3–5 mm long, somewhat accrescent in fruit, lobes triangular, 1–1.5 mm long; corolla broad-stellate to rotate-pentagonal, 15–30 mm diam., blue, lobes acute or notched at apex; anthers 3–5 mm long. Berry globose to depressed globose, 10–15 mm diam., pale yellow; seeds 3–4 mm long, light grey. Flowers spring–autumn.

GleP, MSB. Also SA, Qld, NSW. Very rare in Victoria where apparently confined to heavy clay soils of the Murray River floodplain downstream from Mildura.

Source:

Jeanes, J.A. (1999). Solanaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., ‍Flora of Victoria Vol. 4, Cornaceae to Asteraceae‍, pp. 332–365. Inkata Press, Melbourne.

Updated by: Val Stajsic, 18 Jun. 2018
Solanum lacunarium (hero image) Spinning
Solanum lacunarium (distribution map) Spinning