Common name: Devil's Needles
Solanum stelligerum Sm. APNI* 
Description: Erect woody shrub to 2 m high, stellate-hairy; prickles usually scattered on branches, less common or absent elsewhere.
Leaves lanceolate to elliptic, 3–7 cm long, 1–2.5 cm wide, margins entire or irregularly toothed; upper surface green and sparsely hairy or glabrous, lower surface yellowish or rusty-tomentose; petiole 5–20 cm long.
Inflorescences 1–10-flowered; peduncle to 20 mm long; rachis to 20 mm long; pedicels 1–2 mm long. Calyx 6–8 mm long; lobes 3–6 mm long. Corolla stellate, deeply incised, 20–25 mm diam., pale lilac to almost white.
Berry 5–10 mm diam., bright red.
Flowering: chiefly spring–summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows on coastal sand dunes, sclerophyll forest and rainforest margins, north from Narooma area.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, SC, NT, ST, CWS
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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