Solanum africanum Mill.

Species

Angiosperms > Solanales > Solanaceae > Solanum

Characteristics

Climbing, unarmed, semi-succulent shrub, up to 3 m high, glabrous to ± hairy. Stems quadrangular, rough. Leaves lanceolate to ovate, base cuneate, also ± lobed or hastate, up to 60 x 50 mm, apex obtuse, midrib prominent, margins ± revolute, ± undulate; petioles up to 20 mm long. Inflorescence terminal, paniculate with up to 30 flowers; peduncle 3 mm long; pedicels up to 10 mm long. Calyx cup-shaped, 2.5 mm long, shallowly lobed, lobes rounded. Corolla stellate, up to 10 mm long, up to 20 mm in diam., deeply lobed, lobes lanceolate-oblong, purple, violet. Flowering time mainly Feb.-July. Fruit spherical, up to 15 mm in diam., ripening purple-black. Seeds ± round, flattened, ± 3 mm in diam., reticulate, brown.
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A scrambling shrub. It grows 30 cm to 3 m and the stems are square when young. They can develop roots at the nodes. The leaves are leathery and soft hairy. They are oval or angled and 4-6 cm long. The flowers are in groups at the top of the plant. They are white, mauve or purple. They are 1 cm across. The fruit are purple to black berries. They are 5-15 mm across
Scrambling or prostrate, semisucculent shrub to 3 m, stems squared when young. Leaves lanceolate to ovate, lower often lobed, to 6 cm long. Flowers ± 30 in terminal panicles, white, mauve or purple, 10 mm diam. Berries purplish black, to 15 mm diam.
Sprawling perennial with bristly stems to 30 cm, rooting at nodes. Leaves leathery, softly hairy, ovate or sinuately angled, to 4 cm long. Flowers in terminal cymes, blue-mauve, 5 mm diam. Berries ?black, 5 mm diam.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support climber
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a subtropical plant. It grows in the bush in coastal sand dunes.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-11

Usage

The ripe fruit are eaten.
Uses -
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 15 - 21
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 26
Germination luminosity light
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Flower

Solanum africanum flower picture by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Solanum africanum world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID -
WFO ID wfo-0001025774
COL ID 6YTRF
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Solanum africanum Solanum aggerum Solanum bracteatum Solanum crassifolium Solanum exasperatum Solanum longipes Solanum geniculatum Solanum rubrum Witheringia crassifolia Solanum quadrangulare var. crassifolium Solanum quadrangulare var. glabrum Solanum quadrangulare var. integrifolium Solanum quadrangulare var. sinuato-angulatum