Solanum aviculare
Kangaroo apple ( Solanum aviculare )
The kangaroo apple ( Solanum aviculare ) is a native to Australia and New Zealand species of the genus Solanum (Solanum ). Within the genus, the species is classified in the subgenus Archaesolanum.
Description
Vegetative characteristics
The kangaroo apple is usually 2, rarely 1-4 m tall, perennial shrub with soft branches that become woody only near the base. At the age, the plants are very spread out, without forming offshoots. The branches are bent and grow upwards. Except for fine, glandular trichomes on the shoot tips and the tips of the crown, the plant is hairless. The sympodial units are vielblättrig.
The leaves are pinnate and simple, the tip is acute to acuminate pointed, the base is wrong wedge-shaped. Feathery leaves are broadly elliptic to ovate 15 to 30 cm long and 10-15 cm wide, three to eleven individual lobes are lanceolate to elliptic, 1-10 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. The most clearly distinct and not winged petioles 1 to 1.5 cm long.
Inflorescences and flowers
The standing in the shoot branches or axillary inflorescences are winding of a few up to ten flowers. Often the inflorescence forks on at the base, in the bifurcation itself is also a flower. Another branch of the inflorescence occurs only rarely. A peduncle is often lacking, the inflorescence axis is up to 15 cm long.
The nodding flowers are on stalks that are flowering for 1.5 to 2 cm long. The flower buds are elliptical and are relatively early on the calyx tube out. The calyx is bell-shaped, 3-4 mm long and filled with roughly triangular calyx lobes. The 3 to 4 cm in diameter, star-shaped to slightly bell-shaped crown is pale purple with a dark purple, star -shaped area in the middle. The wide Kronlappen are knit together with a tissue that extends beyond the actual tips of the petals.
The strong stamens are 3 mm long, elongated anthers are 4 mm long and straight upwards. They open by pores at the tips, the pores are extended to short slits. The ovary is glabrous, the pale and also hairless pen is about 7 to 8 mm long, slightly curved and upright. The scar is green or pale.
Fruit and seeds
The fruit is a 2 cm long and 1 to 1.5 cm wide with berries obovate to ellipsoid shape. They mature orange-red to scarlet and are juicy. Each fruit contains 200 to 600 seeds and twelve to 60 stone cells. The seeds have a size of 1.5 to 2 mm, they are bright red or brownish red colored, obovate or broadly obovate, the seed surface is fine and concentric granular - reticulate. The inconspicuous, rounded stone cells are usually 0.75 to 1.5 mm in size, rarely larger.
Other features
Kangaroo apple contains a high proportion of solasodine, which serves as a base for the preparation of steroids. This plant is also grown for this purpose.
The base chromosome number.
Occurrence
The species is common on the east coast of Australia, is also found on the mountain tops of New Guinea and New Zealand, also in the south of Australia, it has been naturalized. It grows in moist areas in disturbed habitats.