Solanum pseudocapsicum
Coral Tree (Solanum pseudocapsicum )
The Coral Tree (Solanum pseudocapsicum ) is a plant of the genus Solanum (Solanum ). A native of Central and South America species is often offered as an ornamental plant and is then also known by names such as coral trees, coral cherry, bouquet cherry or Jerusalem cherry.
- 5.1 Notes and references
Description
Vegetative characteristics
The Coral Tree is a small, bushy decumbent to 1 m tall plant. The branches and leaves are hairless hairy to densely pubescent, but verkahlen relatively quickly. The coat consists of 0.1 to 0.5 mm long, tree -like branched trichomes. The bark of older branches is pale colored golden - brown.
The sympodial units have two pairs of standing leaves. The leaves are elliptic to narrow elliptic shape. The base is pointed towards the front, the leaves are pointed or rounded. The leaf margin is often curled or irregularly shaped. The top is usually glabrous or rarely with a few single-row or tree- like branched trichomes along the central axis, the underside is hairless hairy to densely downy. The trichomes dry one with a golden - brown color. The leaves come in two sizes. The larger leaves, 2.5 cm to 9 cm long and 0.7 to 4.5 cm wide and each have half of the sheet from four to six lateral veins, they stand at 0.2 to 1 cm long petioles. The smaller sheets reach a size from 0.9 to 3.5 × 0.4 to 2.7 cm.
Inflorescences and flowers
The simple inflorescences are the leaves over, 0.2 to 1 cm long, and consist of one to eight flowers, cultivated forms often have only one flower per inflorescence. The inflorescences are glabrous or densely pubescent filled with tree-like branched trichomes. The strong flower stems have to bloom a length of 0.3 to 1 mm and a diameter of 0.5 mm. They are bent back, their attachment points of the flower stems are widely spaced and do not overlap, crop maturity, the starting points are corky. The buds are elliptically shaped, the petals are not above the sepals in the closed bud out.
The calyx consists of a 1 to 2 mm long, tubular calyx tube, connect it to the 1.5 to 4 mm long ( in cultivated plants up to 6 or 7 mm) sepals. The sepals are elongated triangular, the tip is rounded or occasionally spatulate. The hair is similar to the rest of the plant. The crown is colored white and reached a diameter of 1 to 1.5 (in the cultivated plants up to 2.5 ) inches. The petals are free from one another on one-half to three-quarters. The achsabgewandte side of the tip and the edges are densely papillose.
The stamens are fused to 0.5 to 1 mm into a tube, to which a range of 0.5 to 1 cm in length also followed, in which the stamens are free. The anthers are dark orange - red and are 3-4 mm long and 1 to 1.5 mm wide. The pen is 5 to 6 mm long, glabrous, ending in a kleinkopfigen scar whose surface is finely papillose.
Fruit and seeds
The fruits are spherical berries that are initially colored green and change color when ripe from yellow to dark orange-red. The pericarp is thin and papery. The sepals enlarge in the fruit on a length of 5 to 7 mm, the stems are long in the fruits of between 0.8 and 1 cm, are woody and stand upright. 3 to 4 x 2.5 to 3 mm large seeds are pale yellow flattened kidney -shaped and have an increasingly thick edge. The surface is finely granulated, the cells of the surface have an elongated rectangular outline.
Dissemination
The species is widespread in Central and South America. It is found from Mexico to southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. It grows at altitudes 0-2600 m in dry locations.
Due to the worldwide cultivation it is often found in tropical and subtropical areas as a cultural refugee.
System
Within the genus Solanum, the species is classified in the Geminata clade. Some related species are summarized in the Solanum pseudocapsicum group.
Use
The fruits of coral shrub are poisonous and eating just two berries can already cause poisoning symptoms such as gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Nevertheless, the Coral Tree was used early on as an ornamental plant due to its attractive appearance, usually as a potted plant. In Germany, the species is cultivated since the end of the 16th century. There are several varieties. The toxins are the Solanocapsin and other alkaloids.
Documents
- Pseudocapsicum Solanum (Solanaceae Source)