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| Solanum polyphyllum Phil. in Moreira-Muñoz et Muñoz-Schick, 2020. |
Abstract
Although the original description of Solanum polyphyllum Phil. was made in 1891, this species was not seen until it was re-discovered 128 years later in 2019 in the Atacama Desert. Fruits and seeds were previously unknown and a complete description is provided here. This species was not treated in the most recent monograph of Solanum sect. Regmandra, but it should be incorporated in this section due to its glabrous, sessile and entire leaves, which are decurrent onto the stem. Morphologically, S. polyphyllum is similar to S. paposanum, also of section Regmandra, but differs in the entire leaves (against margins with 4–5 acute lobes in S. paposanum) and glabrous leaves (moderately pubescent adaxially and velutinous abaxially in S. paposanum). The rediscovery of S. polyphyllum at a new locality at the same altitudinal belt as the type, re-affirms its restricted distribution and endemism and supports a potential conservation status as an endangered species.
Keywords: Chile, rediscovery, Regmandra, Solanum, Solanum polyphyllum, Solanum sect., Tarapacá Region
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| Figure 2. Solanum polyphyllum Phil. at an alluvial cone at the Tarapacá precordillera A habitat B flower details C leaves D flower E calyx F fruits G seeds H habit. Photos by A. Moreira-Muñoz, drawings by M. Muñoz-Schick. |
Solanum polyphyllum Phil., Anales Museo Nacional, Botánica 2: 64, 1891
Distribution: Endemic to the Atacama desert of northern Chile; only known from two localities in the precordillera of Tamarugal province, Tarapacá region.
Ecology and habitat: Solanum polyphyllum grows between loose rocks of an alluvial cone on the north side of the Camiña river. It corresponds to a plant of 100 cm high, erect stems, very blue flowers and green-orange berries. The population is composed of only a dozen exemplars. The vegetation of the site is an open bush of low coverage (15%). Other species present on the site are: Cistanthe amarantoides (Phil.) Carolin ex Hershkovitz (Montiaceae), Encelia oblongifolia DC., Helogyne apaloidea Nutt. (both Asteraceae), Malesherbia tenuifolia D.Don (Passifloraceae), Huidobria fruticosa Phil. (Loasaceae), Allionia incarnata L. (Nyctaginaceae) and Exodeconus integrifolius (Phil.) Axelius (Solanaceae).
Conservation status: The limited representation in herbaria, as well as the low abundance in the field, makes the Solanum polyphyllum a candidate for threatened status. Due to its distribution in the two known locations of Compe and Pachica it is Data Deficient, pending further field work. Solanum polyphyllum potentially could be found in Isluga National Park but new surveys are required to corroborate its presence in this protected area.
Andres Moreira-Muñoz and Melica Muñoz-Schick. 2020. Rediscovery and Taxonomic Placement of Solanum polyphyllum Phil. (Solanaceae), A Narrow Endemic from the Chilean Atacama Desert. PhytoKeys. 156: 47-54. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.156.53703
