Abstract
A Solanum species long considered an American introduction to the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa is identified as Solanum rigidum, a member of the Eggplant clade of Old World spiny solanums (Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum) and is probably endemic to the Cape Verde Islands. Collections of this species from the Caribbean are likely to have been introduced from the Cape Verde Islands on slave ships. We discuss the complex nomenclatural history of this plant and provide a detailed description, illustration and distribution map. The preliminary conservation status of Solanum rigidum is Least Concern, but needs to be reassessed in light of its endemic rather than introduced status.
Highlights
Solanum L. (Solanaceae) is the largest genus of Solanaceae; with some 1400 species, it is one of the largest angiosperm genera (Frodin 2004)
Solanum rigidum has long been treated as S. fuscatum L. (Linnaeus 1762), and as an American introduction to the Cape Verde Islands, rather than the endemic species that it is
Use of the name S. fuscatum began in the early 20th century with Chevalier’s (1935: 904) treatment of the plants of the Cape Verde archipelago; he assumed that this spiny solanum species was an introduction from the Americas, presumably from Linnaeus’ indication of origin of S. fuscatum, or Dunal’s (1814) suggestion that his S. heteracanthum was similar to “S. fuscatum”, and that assumption has persisted in floristic work since that time
Summary
Solanum L. (Solanaceae) is the largest genus of Solanaceae; with some 1400 species, it is one of the largest angiosperm genera (Frodin 2004). Current work by participants of the “PBI Solanum” project (see www.nhm.ac.uk/solanaceaesource) will result in a modern monographic treatment of the genus available online. This contribution is part of that collaborative effort. Solanum is predominantly a New World group, two clades of Old World species are resolved in molecular phylogenetic analyses (Bohs 2005). We have recently completed a monograph of the spiny solanums of continental Africa and Madagascar (Vorontsova and Knapp in press) and species from the offshore African islands such as the Canaries and Cape Verdes were not included, their status and morphology were reviewed as part of the larger work. We provide a description of this species, ascertain its correct name and discuss its probable relationships
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