Line drawing by M. Szent Ivany, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4 (1981) 143,  fig. 51, as S. densevestitum.

Illustration by W.A.Smith in Austrobaileya 6: 675, fig. 13. Reproduced with permission.

Distribution map generated from Australia's Virtual Herbarium.

Synonymy

Solanum hapalum A.R.Bean, Austrobaileya 6: 674 (2004).

T: 2.3 km along Dingo Range road, clouds Creek State Forest, north of Dorrigo, 9 Sep 2000, A.R.Bean 16862; holo: BRI; iso: MEL, NE, NSW.

S. densevestitum auct.non F.Muell. ex Benth. (1868); Symon, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 142(1981), p.p.; Purdie et al., Fl. Austral. 29: 129(1982), p.p.

S. nemophilum auct.non F.Muell.: Purdie et al., Fl. Austral. 29: 129(1982), p.p.

Description

Erect, rhizomatous perennial shrub, 0.5-1 m high. Juvenile branchlets without prickles; entire or shallowly-lobed. Adult stem prickles absent. Adult branchlets yellow or brown; prickles absent; stellae very dense, 0.3-0.4 mm diameter, stalks 0-0.1 mm long; lateral rays 7or 8, porrect; central ray 3-7 times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent.

Adult leaves ovate, entire; lamina 4.5-7 cm long, 2.3-3.5 cm wide, 1.9-2.5times longer than broad, apex obtuse or acute, base obtuse or cordate, oblique part 1-4 mm long, obliqueness index 2-6 percent; petioles0.8-1.7 cm long, 17-25% length of lamina, prickles absent. Upper leaf surface grey-green; prickles absent; stellate hairs distributed throughout; proto-stellae absent; ordinary stellae density moderate to dense, 0.15-0.3 mm apart,0.25-0.4 mm across, sessile; lateral rays 6-8,porrect; central ray 4-9 times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2hairs absent. Lower leaf surface white or yellowish; prickles absent; stellae dense to very dense, 0.1-0.2 mm apart, 0.4-0.5 mm diameter, sessile; lateral rays 7 or 8, porrect; central ray3-5 times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent.

Inflorescence supra-axillary, solitary or pseudo-umbellate, common peduncle absent; 1-3-flowered, with all flowers bisexual and 5-merous; pedicels 2-7 mm long at anthesis, same thickness throughout, 0.6-0.7 mm thick at midpoint, prickles absent. Calyx tube 1-1.5 mm long, lobes elliptic, 4.5-8 mm long; prickles absent at anthesis; stellae very dense, transparent, 0.3-0.5 mm across, stalks 0-0.1mm long, lateral rays 7 or 8, central ray 3-5times as long as laterals, not gland-tipped; finger hairs absent; Type 2 hairs absent. Corolla mauve, 7-12 mm long, shallowly lobed, inner surface glabrous; anthers 4-5 mm long; ovary with Type 2 hairs only; functional style 5-8mm long, erect, glabrous or with Type 2 hairs only.

Fruiting calyx with lobes exceeding mature fruit, prickles absent. Mature fruits 1or 2 per inflorescence, globular, 5-6.5 mm diameter, red, 1-locular (septum absent or incomplete); placenta not apparent; mesocarp juicy, succulent; exocarp 0.2-0.4 mm thick; pedicels 8-11 mm long in fruit, 0.7-1 mm thick at mid-point; seeds pale yellow, 2.2-2.5 mm long.

Description reproduced with permission from Bean, Austrobaileya 6: 674 (2006).

Another detailed description of this species by Bean can be found at http://delta-intkey.com/solanum/www/hapalum.htm

Distribution and ecology

S. hapalum occurs from Mt Barney in SE Qld to Port Macquarie in NE NSW with a disjunct occurrence further S at Batemans Bay.

Found in disturbed areas on the edge of rainforest margins or eucalyptys forest.

Relationships

Treated as part of the S. densevestitum group of the subg. Leptostemonum (Bean 2004), together with S. gympiense, S. densevestitum, S. innoxium, S. johnsonianum, S. nemophilum and S. ultimum .

Notes

A line drawing of S. hapalum can be found in Austrobaileya 6: 675 (2004) and also, as S. densevestitum , in Symon, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4: 143 (1981). Both are reproduced here with permission.

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Derivation of epithet

From the Latin hapalus, soft, a reference to the soft, felty leaves and stems.

Selected specimens

QLD: Mt Lindesay, Oct 1921, C.T.White 1121 (BRI); Border road 4 km S of the sawmill on Burnett Ck, close to N.S.W. border, Apr1973, P.Sharpe 447 (BRI); Mt Barney, south slopes, Oct 1992, P.Forster 11857 et al. (AD, BRI).

N.S.W.: 30 miles [48 km] NE of Glen Innes, Gibraltar S.F., Apr 1956, Constable (NSW); Gibraltar Range N.P., 68km E of Glen Innes, Oct 1969, R.Coveny 2243a (NSW); Surface Hill, ESE of Tenterfield, Jan 1975, Moriarty 1640 (BRI, CANB); F.R. 121 Raleigh, Bellinger R., Apr 1910, Swain 157 (NSW); Coffs Harbour, Jun 1911, Boorman s.n. (BRI, NSW); Taree, Apr 1951, Noonan s.n. (NSW); 3miles [5 km] W of Drake, Girard S.F., Apr 1956, Constable s.n. (NSW); North Obelisk, 2 km SW of Urbenville, Dec1977, L.Haegi 1539 (BRI, NSW); 0.4 km W along Dennis Road, Ingalba S.F., 27 km NW of Kempsey, Dec 1998, B.Lepschi 4021 & J.Connors (CANB, NSW); Forbes Forest road, NW of Wauchope, Nov 1999, A.R.Bean 15702 (BRI, NSW); Welsh's Road, Clouds Creek S.F., N of Dorrigo, Sep 2000, A.R.Bean 16854 (BRI, NSW); Blacksmiths Shop road, Dalmorton S.F., SW of Grafton, Jan 2001, A.R.Bean 17252 (BRI); Long Beach, Batemans Bay, Apr 1990, Hancock s.n. (AD, CANB, NSW); Blairs Road, Square Head, Batemans Bay, Jan 1995, Rees 300 (CANB); Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens, Dec 1999, Booth 2511 (AD, BRI, NSW).

From the web

A photograph of this species by Hugh & Nan Nicholson can be seen on the Terania Rainforest Publishing Photo Library site.