Abstract
A new species of Solanum is described from Peru. Solanum junctum S. Stern & M. Nee, sp nov. is a member of the Torva clade of the spiny solanums (Leptostemonum clade). The narrow corolla lobes and recurved prickles of Solanum junctum are similar to species in the Micracantha clade, but Solanum junctum differs in its branched inflorescences and upright green fruits. These characteristics are shared with other members the Torva clade; within this section Solanum junctum is morphologically most similar to Solanum subinerme and Solanum poinsettiifolium. Solanum subinerme has larger flowers, longer cauline prickles, and often has long straight prickles on the adaxial leaf surface that are lacking in Solanum junctum. Solanum poinsettiifolium has fewer spines, dense white tomentum on the abaxial leaf surfaces, stout unbranched inflorescences, and more extensive interpetalar corolla tissue than Solanum junctum.
Highlights
The giant genus Solanum L. has been the subject of recent systematic studies due to support from the NSF Planetary Biodiversity Inventory program, including phylogenetic study of the Leptostemonum clade (Bohs 2005; Levin et al 2006; Weese and Bohs 2007; Stern et al 2010; Stern et al 2011)
A species of the Micracantha clade. Another specimen Macbride included under S. heterophyllum, Swingle 119, is S. poinsettiifolium Rusby, a member of the Torva clade
Solanum junctum differs from S. subinerme in its smaller flowers, shorter cauline prickles and lack of straight prickles on the adaxial leaf surfaces
Summary
The giant genus Solanum L. has been the subject of recent systematic studies due to support from the NSF Planetary Biodiversity Inventory program, including phylogenetic study of the Leptostemonum clade (Bohs 2005; Levin et al 2006; Weese and Bohs 2007; Stern et al 2010; Stern et al 2011). Keywords Solanum, Peru, new species, Torva clade Stern et al (2011) conducted a large-scale phylogenetic study of the spiny solanums and found that Solanum species that climb with recurved prickles belong to several different groups, including the Torva, Erythrotrichum, Micracantha, and Old World clades (as defined by Stern et al 2011).
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