Solanum goetzei Dammer

Erect, much-branched perennial herb or shrublet, rarely scandent, up to 2 m high; prickles absent; sympodia difoliate; hairs stellate, whitish, sometimes violaceous or reddish tinged, minute, ± sessile, regular, with many short rays. Branches terete, floccose-tomentose at first, gradually glabrescent. Leaves solitary or partly subgeminate: petiole 5-45 mm long, base purple: lamina thin, soft, membranous, lanceolate to obovate, 30-225 x 10-90 mm, apex acute or acuminate, rarely ± obtuse, base cuneate, gradually narrowing into the petiole and ± unequal-sided, somewhat subrepand to scarcely undulate, rarely ± entire, tending to dry blackish, initially with ± abundant whitish hairs, soon becoming sparsely hairy to quite glabrous with age, dark green above, underside paler, with 5-9 pairs of lateral nerves. Cymes soon leaf-opposed or leaf-remote, forked 1 or 2 times or rarely unbranched, racemiform, 15-30 mm long, 3-24-flowered. ± pulverulent-tomentose; peduncle 1-18 mm long: densely stellate-tomentose, rhachis 1-8 mm long. Flowers (4)5-merous, ± nodding, unscented; pedicels 5-11 mm long, slender, purple, often at first densely hairy, glabrescent, except at base, in fruit elongated to 16 mm, somewhat thickened distally, ascending or erect. Calyx 2-5 mm long, somewhat accrescent, campanulate or cupular, ± hairy; 5-lobed, lobes ± unequal, ovate-triangular to triangular-elongate or broadly obovate, 0.5-3.0 x 0.5-1.0 mm, acute or mucronate to narrowly long-acuminate, in fruit enlarged to 5 x 2 mm, finally ± reflexed. Corolla bluish to pale violet or lilac, sometimes white, campanulate-stelliform; limb 8-15 mm across; deeply 5-lobed, lobes ± lanceolate, 3-8 x 1.0-3.5 mm, acute, ± densely hairy outside mainly on median part, glabrous except for a few stellate hairs scattered along midvein or only near apex inside, erect to reflexed. Stamens 5, subequal; filaments glabrous, 0.5-1.0 mm long; anthers lanceolate-elliptic in outline, 3-5 x 0.8-1.2 mm, slightly obtuse, ± emarginate at apex, yellow. Ovary ± globose, 0.7-1.0 mm diam., glabrous or with few minute glands near apex; style 4.5-8.5 mm long, glabrous, exceeding stamens, often arcuate at apex, glabrous or with few minute glands near base, white; stigma subglobose, green. Fruit globose, 6-10 mm diam., green, shining bright to deep red when ripe, soft. Seeds few, compressed, somewhat obliquely reniform, 3-5 x 2.5-4.0 mm, surface reticulate-tuberculate, pale yellowish.

It is a tropical plant.

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.