Common name: Potato Climber, Jasmine Nightshade
Solanum laxum Spreng. APNI* Synonyms: Solanum jasminoides Paxton APNI*
Description: Perennial climber, mostly glabrous; prickles absent.
Leaves ovate to lanceolate, 3–5 cm long, 1.5–2.5 cm wide, usually simple, sometimes with 2 small leaves in axil; ± concolorous, green and glabrous except for hairy domatia on lower surface; petiole 1–2 cm long, often twining; juvenile leaves ± pinnatisect, to 7 cm long and 6 cm wide, deeply lobed, lobes lanceolate.
Inflorescences branched, c. 20-flowered; peduncle to 35 mm long up to first fork; pedicels 10–15 mm long; fruiting pedicel thickened. Calyx 2–3 mm long; lobes 1–1.5 mm long. Corolla shallowly incised, c. 20 mm diam., white or pale blue.
Berry 7–9 mm diam., dark blue to shiny black.
Flowering: chiefly summer–autumn.
Distribution and occurrence: Garden escape, naturalized in coastal districts north from Bega. Native S Amer.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *SC
Other Australian states: *Qld
Text by B. J. Conn
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 3 (1992)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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