Solanum violaceum

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so-LAN-num — solace, quietude; referring to narcotic properties of some species … Dave’s Botanary
las-ee-oh-KAR-pum — woolly fruit … Dave’s Botanary
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commonly known as: Indian nightshade, poison berry, wild Indian brinjal • Assamese: তিতা-ভেকুৰি tita-bhekuri • Gujarati: ઊભી ભોંય રિંગણી ubhi bhoy ringani • Hindi: बरहट्टा barhatta, कोलसा kolsa • Kannada: ಕಿರಿಯ ಗುಳ kiriya gula • Manipuri: leipungkhangga • Marathi: चिंचुरडी chinchurdi, लालकांगोणी lalkangoni • Mizo: maihrem, samtawkte • Nepalese: बिहिँ bihi • Oriya: tutuguno • Sanskrit: बृहती brihati, क्षुद्रभण्टाकी kshudrabhantaaki, प्रचोदिनी prachodini, स्वादुपाका svadupaka, वार्ताकी vaartaaki • Tamil: சிறுவழுதுணை ciru-valutunai, கரிமுள்ளி kari-mulli, நாய்முள்ளி nay-mulli • Telugu: తెల్లములక tellamulaka, వార్తాకి vartaki • Tibetan: bri ha ti
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Native to: s China, Indian subcontinent, Indo-China, Malesia; cultivated in tropical Asia
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As per efi thread:  Solanum violaceum Ortega, Nov. Pl. Descr. Dec. 56. 1798.
syn: Solanum indicum Clarke in FBI (non L.); Solanum chinense Dunal

Solanum indicum described in FBI, as understood now represents more one species: S. erianthum D. Don, S. anguivi and S. violaceum. Latter is quite distinct in its purple flowers (white in first, white with purple veins in second), branches and underside of leaves tomentose, prickles curved on stem, straight on petiole and leaf beneath; leaf unequal at base, sinuately lobed; flowers in leaf-opposed cymes, 2 cm across, calyx finely stellate; berry green mottled with white when young orange when ripe, about 1 cm across.
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The plant often gone under the name Solanum indicum in Indian Floras has now been understood as several species. One such is S. anguivi which has again white flowers with purple veins on outside and more important there are numerous berries in a bunch.

This should be S. violaceum
S. anguivi has mostly white flowers, less than 12 mm across, in many-flowered raceme like cymes.

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I must have missed some characters. I need to refresh my solanum collection. I will upload more species later.

FoP must have updated their site after your key in – efi thread

FoC has S. violaceum Ortega – with shiny orange berry, which is similar to S. anguivi Lam. of FoZ.

Flora indica, vol1, p570 informs –
S. indicum Willd. sp. i. 1042 (i don’t know it’s meaning) – berries erect, round. smooth…. while immature variegated with deeper and lighter green, when ripe with deep orange yellow.

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These threads should help

efi thread

efi thread 2

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This plant is not Solanum anguivi Lam. as per Flora of Zimbabwe and your post & discussion at – efi thread 1 & efi thread 2
Also some semi-domesticated form at – plantnames.unimelb

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KEY to Solanum in eFI informs S. violaceum Ortega is an unarmed shrub : 15a > 16b > 19b > 20b !!! This goes against the thread, both on ‘arm’ and ‘flower size’.
Attached here sub-reniform, foveolate seeds of this plant. Attachments(1)

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Stem in S. violaceum has curved prickles as per our regular key on the website. I can’t now figure out how I added S. kurzii as synonym of S. violaceum. I have removed that now. But then S. kurzii is an East Himalayan species, fruits uploaded by … once as Tita Baingun. Perhaps you can explore it further.
efi thread

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Thank you for the updated KEY. Interestingly GRIN thinks Solanum kurzii Brace ex Prain is synonym of Solanum violaceum Ortega.

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I think I must have followed GRIN in putting S. kurzii as synonym after constructing the key. Perhaps original description of S. kurzii should help.

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Found herbarium of Solanum kurzii –

1. from India – sonneratphoto.mnhn
2. (source : http://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/)
3. Thailand – sonneratphoto.mnhn
4. (source http://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/)
5. do – sonneratphoto.mnhn
6. (source http://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/)

Thank you

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Also found photo and illustration of Solanum sanitwongsei Craib.

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I looks both synonyms given by GRIN have problem. S. violaceum clearly has curved prickles as indicated in both description of Flora of China
http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=3450&flora_id=2
Important also that it includes some specimens originally included under S. indicum in earlier Floras.

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I have read and re-read FoC description of S. violaceum Ortega many times. Herbarium of S. violaceum clearly shows prickles –

• herbarium-images
• herbarium-images 2
• source of above – https://herbarium-images.googlecode.com/

But, ENVIS has purple flowered S. anguivi Lam.

and a herbarium – http://envis.frlht.org/showherbarium (source envis.frlht)
This is confusing, for earlier I thought my plant was closer to S. anguivi Lam. of FoP., even though it doesn’t have many flowered racemes. But at the same time my plant neither have ‘scorpioid raceme’ (?) of S. violaceum of FoC. Of-course ‘Prota.org’ have different version of Solanum anguivi.

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The confusion is justified, as both S. anguivi and S. violaceum have S. indicum as synonym in one form or another, obviously not very different species. Perhaps any recent book which lists both can give a better and conclusive key.

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Thank you Sir. Solanum erianthum D. Don (S. verbascifolium non L.) is another species which was entered, in Hooker, Prain and Haines as S. verbascifolium L. But, S. verbascifolium L. is regarded as S. donianum Walp., by GRIN and FoC.

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Yes …, the plant identified as S. verbascifolium in Indian works is S. erianthum D. Don, as clarified in several threads of of efloraofindia

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Yes Sir, I have noted our group site posts. I was thinking what could be Ritesh Ji’s plant, which looks somewhat like ethno-botanik, impossible though!

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Solanum anguivi Lam from Assam :  Attachments (8). 4 posts by 3 authors.

Attached images may be Solanum anguivi Lam. Please validate

Date :24.12.2013

Location: Kamrup district, Assam

Family : Solanaceae

Genus & species : Solanum anguivi Lam

Habitat: Grows wild
Habit : Shrub 

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Solanum violaceum I hope
In S. anguivi flowers are smaller, white (at most with purple veins) and fruits purple when mature.
/species/m—z/s/solanaceae/solanum

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I hope S. anguivi is now treated as the synonym of S. violaceum ssp. violaceum

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I don’t think so, both major databases GRIN and The Plant List treat it distinct

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?310328
http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/tro-29605616

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Common in western ghats too

I think it is S. violaceum Ortega (syn: Solanum kurzii Brace ex Prain). In S. anguivi flowers are white with often purple veins outside, fruit red when mature. 

These two species are very closely related, only minor differences exist. Let me provide those differences after referring regional floras.
The images uploaded by you seems Solanum incanum, an African species. I also come across the same, roadside from out skirt of Bangalore.

I am very much interested to know. Because, earlier I argued a lot with Gurcharan Sir regarding a similar looking species i posted. And i used a scale.
I argued a lot with …, but I think the the flower character. as mentioned by Sir, can be taken as an identifying feature, as can be seen in a site dealing with solanaceae –

In my specimen the fruit is less than 1cm only

Thank you very much …. But, I think neither flower size nor fruit size would help in differentiating the two concerned species – anguivi and violaceum.

1. Solanum violaceum Ortega : as per FoC -> flower = 10-12mm X 10-20mm; fruit = 8-13mm
2. Solanum anguivi Lam. : as per 1) KEW, 2) FoZ and 3) a book -> flower = 8-20mm across (KEW) or 6-12mm (book); fruit = 6-13mm (FoZ, KEW) or 7-18mm (book)

Thank you once again

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You are right …, that is why they have been often reffered to S. indicum in Indian Floras
To me one difference is that leaves are cleft almost to middle in S. violaceum, sinialte or shallowly lobed in S. anguivi
One thing is very obvious. No Flora seems to be describing both. If we find one, perhaps our problem would be solved.
The description of S. anguivi in Fl. Zimbabwe, Fl. Pakistan, and Protobase record base seems to be varying a lot suggesting the overlap in these Flora.
Perhaps a good research material for … S. angui or S. violaceum, or both in India.

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This is very much beyond my online research work! Instead if you ask me select one ID between anguivi and violaceum I would happily accept violaceum of FoC, specially for my plant, for reasons I try to explain below (and while trying I will use the tips which I have collected from your comments in various threads) –

• Solanum anguivi Lam. is an African plant. I fully agree with your view – (usually) much-divided leaves and white flower character as supported by FoZ, FoZambesia (KEW featured) and the book “vegetables (2004)”. Moreover, FoZ, The book, KEW all says S. anguivi Lam. is synonymous with Solanum indicum auct. Non L.
• Flora of British India describes Solanum indicum L. but think it is only partly Linné’s plant. Roxburgh also entered some notes, regarding our East Indian plants. Attached here entries from FI and FBI. I have failed to find any info on references Roxburgh or Hooker mentioned.
• TPL thinks the entry in FI (Fl. Ind. i. 570) is not of Linné but of Roxburgh
• If we see entry of FBI, we will see S. indicum partly L. is connected with (i) anguivi but not of Lam., (ii) violaceum but not of Ortega
• Yet FBI connects it with Cochinchina

So, I think our species, closely connected to China’s if not same, is Indian version of S. violaceum Ortega Since it is very common throughout India it can’t be Africa’s S. anguivi Lam.

African plant may be present in pockets as in … post. But not guaranteed, because as per literatures the violaceum flower can also be “nearly white (Haines)”.

Thus far my research goes.

Thank you very much, specially for giving me an opportunity to express myself.

Attachments (2)

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I would like to add another point in favour of S. violaceum. In his thread … provides us complete list of Solanum in Bangladesh – efi thread where Solanum anguivi doesn’t exist/listed.

So, the Solanum indicum L. of “Bengal Plants” must be S. violaceum of China or Bangladesh.

I would further like to add that my plant is not Solanum ferox L. (perhaps it is also non-L.?) of BP or BoBO, because Haines informs fruits are 1 inch and Prain informs fruits are 1 inch or more across.
My plant is neither Solanum incanum L. because {i} FBI thinks it is synonymous with S. melongena L. (ii) even if it is wild as in FoP, fruits should be an inch or more (as per FoP).

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Larger flowers, more deeply lobed leaves suggest S. violaceum.

Solanum indicum

Thank you …, but Solanum indicum (S.anguivi) don’t have white flowers?

No it will not have white flowers, it is common at around 800- 1000m altitude area.

Here are the links to the key and previous discussions
/species/m—z/s/solanaceae/solanum

So it is Solanum violaceum as per link given by …

Solanum violaceum from Anjana Layout Bangalore-GS29012022-1: 7 very high res. images.
Solanum violaceum photographed from Anjana Layout Bangalore, 21-9-2015

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