Solanum retroflexum Dunal

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Photo: Bart Wursten
Christon Bank Botanical Reserve

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Synonyms:	Solanum nigrum sensu auctt. Solanum nodiflorum sensu auctt.
Common names:	Wonderberry (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Possibly introduced
Description:	Erect or spreading annual herb, 20-100 cm high.Branches more or less angular or narrowly winged wit spaced soft teeth or prickle-like hairs. Leaves elliptic to ovate, up to 11 cm long, more or less deeply lobed, decurrent into a winged petiole, pubescent on both surfaces. Flowers in 3-7-flowered umbelliform inflorescences, white to creamy-yellow, often with a purplish stripe down the centre of the lobes. Fruit on recurved or strongly reflexed pedicels, more or less depressed globose, 6-8 mm in diameter, purple-black when ripe, poisonous.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:
Habitat:	Forest margins and clearings, riverine vegetation, woodland and grassland, on termite mounds, sometimes among rocks, often in disturbed places,old cultivated land, gardens and fields.
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Probably originally native to South Africa. Now also in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Also in Arabia and southern Australia.
Botswana distribution:	N,SE
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:	Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 33. Gonçalves, A.E. (2005). Solanaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(4) Pages 83 - 85. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 80. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 106. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 100.

Other sources of information about Solanum retroflexum:

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Flora of Malawi: Solanum retroflexum
Flora of Mozambique: Solanum retroflexum
Flora of Zambia: Solanum retroflexum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Solanum retroflexum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Solanum retroflexum
African Plant Database: Solanum retroflexum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Solanum retroflexum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Solanum retroflexum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Solanum retroflexum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Solanum retroflexum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Solanum retroflexum
JSTOR Plant Science: Solanum retroflexum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Solanum retroflexum
Plants of the World Online: Solanum retroflexum
Tropicos: Solanum retroflexum
Wikipedia: Solanum retroflexum