JOURNAL of the ADELAIDE BOTANIC GARDENS AN OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL FOR AUSTRALIAN SYSTEMATIC BOTANY flora.sa.gov.au/jabg Published by the STATE HERBARIUM OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA on behalf of the BOARD OF THE BOTANIC GARDENS AND STATE HERBARIUM © Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, Adelaide, South Australia © Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Government of South Australia All rights reserved State Herbarium of South Australia PO Box 2732 Kent Town SA 5071 Australia DEDICATION This revision is dedicated to Mr Aubeto Kairo, Forestry College, Buloloand Mr Paul Katik, The Herbarium, Botanic Garden, Lae. Their remarkable knowledge of the floraof New Guinea has enriched the visits and collections of many botanical visitorsto the region. Mr A. Kairo Mr P. Katik (photo per B. Tegler) (photo per E.E. Henry) J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 8: 1-171 (1985) THE SOLANACEAE OF NEW GUINEA D.E. Symon Waite Agricultural Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, South Australia, 5064 Abstract An account of the family Solanaceae in New Guinea is presented. The following genera are naturalised and are represented by 1-2 species only Browallia, Brugmansia, Capsicum, Cestrum, Cyphomandra, Datura, Lycopersicon, Nicandra, Nicotiana and Physalis. Lycianthes is treated as a subgenus of Solanum. The genus Solanum with 59 species includes 7 alien species either cultivated, naturalised or weedy. Of the 52 native species, the following are described as new: S. abortivum Symon S. anfractum Symon, S. atheniae Symon, S. bitterianum Symon, S. borgmannii Symon, S. dendropilosum Symon, S. denseaculeatum Symon, S. expedunculatum Symon, S. incanoalabastrum Symon, S. infuscatum Symon, S. mankiense Symon, S. missimense Symon, S. multivenosum Symon, S. nolense Symon, S. papuanum Symon, S. pustukaum Symon, S. rivicola Symon, S. saruwagedensis Symon, S. umbonatum Symon. Contents Introduction 1 Key to Genera 7 Taxonomic treatments Browallia 7 Brugmansia 8 Capsicum 9 Cestrum 11 Cyphomandra 12 Datura 13 Lycopersicon 14 Nicandra 15 Nicotiana 16 Physahls 18 Solanum 20 Key to Solanum 21 Acknowledgements 159 References 159 Maps 161 Index. 169 Introduction No comprehensive taxonomic account of the family Solanaceae appears to have been made for the whole of New Guinea. Partial accounts of limited areas may be found in Schumann & Hollrung (1889), Warburg (1891), Schumann (1898), Schumann & Lauterbach (1901), van Royen (1959), Whitmore (1966), Foreman (1971), Johns & Stevens (1971), Streimann (1983) and Peekel (undated). With the possible exception of Physalis minima all the introduced genera can be considered garden escapes. Some are still localised e.g. Datura, Cestrum and Browallia white others are now widespread, e.g. Brugmansia and Capsicum. Further additions to both species and genera can be expected in the future. 1 D. E. Symon J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 8(1985) The concept of New Guinea is here broadened to include in addition to the main island also the adjacent off shore islands especially the eastern group including the Solomon Islands. It would thus include the present political territories of Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. However, in some cases, as for instance in Solanum dunalianum it seemed relevant for an understanding of the distribution of the species to cite specimens from the islands to the north and east of this area. Notes on Solanum A comprehensive account of the genus Solanum in New Guinea was published by G. Bitter in 1917. In this account Bitter described 26 species of which 13 belonged to the subgenus Lycianthes. He transferred these to the genus Lycianthes in his monograph of Lycianthes in 1919. Bitter's account was based substantially on early German collections from Kaiser Wilhelmsland and was no doubt made more difficult by the turmoil of the first world war. One of the great tragedies of taxonomic botany was the loss of most of the Berlin herbarium in the second world war. In that disaster many type specimens from New Guinea were lost. Duplicates of some of these have been traced but types of the following species have not yet been found: S. dallmannianum Warburg, Warburg 21245, Sattelberg. S. dammerianum Lauter. & Schum. Dahl Feb. 1897, Wunakukur. S. ornans Witasek, Rechinger 1775, Upolu, Samoa. S. peekelii Bitter, Peekel 523, Buragamata bei Namatanai. S. balanidium Bitter, Ledermann 11332, Hunsteinspitze. S. bambusarum Bitter, Ledermann 12129, Schraderberg. S. kaernbachii Lauter. & Schum., Kaernbach 77, Sattelberg. S. ledermannii Bitter, Ledermann 9124, Etappenberg. S. moszkowskii Bitter, Moszkowski 368, Van Rees, Naumoni. S. patellicalyx Bitter, Ledennann 11272, 11483, Hunsteinspitze. I would be glad to hear from any herbaria that hold duplicates of the type collections of any of these species. Their loss has made more difficult the correct application of names in a number of cases. Since the second world war there has been extensive plant collecting in the area but this is still woefully inadequate considering the diversity of the area, the richness of the Flora and the difficulty of making good collections under tropical conditions. This applies particularly to Irian Jaya where access has not been freely available. The establishment of the Botany Unit and Herbarium during 1944 at Lae enabled collections to be made and kept in New Guinea for the first time. I am very grateful to Mr M. Galore for an opportunity to work at Lae and to make collections during a field trip in 1977, and to Mr E.E. Henty, my host for a visit in 1984. Not surprisingly many new species have been recognised. Solanum species occur in most areas of New Guinea but are rare in swamps and are absent from alpine regions. None for example are included in van Royen's "Alpine Flora of New Guinea".They are less common in the lowland rainfore,st than in the middle uplands. Life forms vary from herbs (the ubiquitous sect. Solanum) to small or large shrubs, lianes (Bitter writes of trunks as thick as a man's arm) and small trees. Some species are occasionally epiphytic. Species may be armed or unarmed. The tomentum is often sparse particularly in comparison with species frorn Australia. In contrast the range and diversity of fruit form and colour occurring in New Guinea is much narrower than in Australia though a number of ripe fruits remain undescribed in the subgen. Lycianthes. No plants with enlarged calyces occur and red, succulent fruit forms outnumber all others. The red fruits suggest that seed dispersal is primarily by birds. 2 J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 8 (1985) Solanaceae of New Guinea The major vertebrate herbivores must be marsupials, as in Australia, and some very prickly forms have evolved e.g. S. rivicola, although the proportion of prickly species is lower than in Australia. All species of subgen. Lycianthes are unarmed and some are epiphytes or lianes and thus escape predation except perhaps from tree kangaroos or cuscus. Some fruits are heavily infested with fruitfly larvae. Very little appears to be known of the alkaloid content of native species of Solanum. Hartley (1973) lists eleven species on which field tests were done, of these only one (S. dunalianum) was positive. However, in view of the fact that alkaloids have been found in three of the species elsewhere (S. lasiocarpum=S. ferox, S. torvum and S. erianthum, Schreiber [1968]) more extensive and critical testing is still needed. It is most unfortunate that so little is known of the alkaloid content of species of the subgen. Lycianthes which may or may not support its generic separation from Solanum. Very few native species of Solanum have been recorded as being used by the indigenous population. This is in marked contrast to the widespread use of Solanum species in Australia, Peterson (1979). True, S. americanum and possibly S. opacum were widely used as green vegetables (this use also extended to the Pacific) but none appear to be used as fruits. Only four species are listed by Powell in Paijmans (1976). Two of these, S. melongena and S. tuberosum, are relatively recent introductions, S. americanum (=S. nigrum sens. lat.) is used as a green vegetable and S. torvoideum is given an unspecified use in "fighting". The reason for the small number is not clear, possibly it was the relative abundance of more palatable plants. Holdsworth and Mahana (1982) record the use of S. (Lyc.) kaernbachii in local medicine. The family Solanaceae is one of the Southern Hemisphere families with its main centre of development in South America. The number of genera are fewer in Australia, about ,12, George (1982) and are further reduced in Africa and in areas north of the equator. In New Guinea only Solanum is well developed though 10 genera have become established as aliens.This includes Physalis and Datura whose status in South East Asia and Australia may still be debated. Despite the few genera present the species are of great interest not only for their own sake but for phytogeographical reasons, particularly the subgenus Lycianthes for which New Guinea is undoubtedly the East Malesian centre of diversity. An intriguing aspect is the trans-Pacific nature of the connections with Central America. This is not readily explained as related species do not occur in the mid-Pacific islands. The palaeobiogeography and origin of the New Guinea flora is discussed by Axelrod and Raven (1982). Life form Six species may be described as herbs. ,Under New Guinea conditions they are probably short lived, soft wooded shrubs lasting several years. Two species S. melongena (egg plant) and S. tuberosum (potato) are comparatively re,cent introductions to domestic gardens. Two species belong to sect. Solanum, S. americanum and S. opacum. The first is definitely used as a green vegetable and is available in local markets. It is probable that S. opacum is also used as a vegetable. Both these species will persist for several years under some conditions.