Common name: Wild Tobacco Bush
Solanum mauritianum Scop. APNI*
Description: Shrub or small tree to 4 m high, ± grey-green, ± stellate-tomentose; prickles absent.
Leaves elliptic, 9–30 cm long, 3.5–14 cm wide, margins entire and ± undulate; discolorous, upper surface green and pubescent, lower surface greyish and tomentose; petiole 3–9 cm long, with 1 or 2 small sessile leaves in axil except on smaller twigs.
Inflorescences many-flowered; primary peduncle 30–150 mm long; pedicels 2–3 mm long. Calyx 4–6 mm long; lobes 1.5–3 mm long, slightly enlarged in fruit. Corolla stellate, 15–25 mm diam., violet.
Berry 10–15 mm diam., dull yellow, hairy, glabrescent.
Flowering: autumn–spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Widely naturalized in disturbed near-coastal areas, common in rainforest regrowth; chiefly north from Araluen, also recorded for Albury. Native S Amer.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *SC, *CT, *ST, *SWS, *LHI
Other Australian states: *Qld *S.A.
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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