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Solanum
See list of 14 species in this genusReference: Schilling (1981).
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1a. Leaf blades pubescent with compound hairs; stems and/or leaf blades armed with slender prickles; anthers tapering to the apex (usually not tapering in S. melongena)
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2a. Leaf blades subentire to sinuate-lobed or toothed with large teeth, but not obviously pinnately lobed; calyx not enclosing fruit at maturity; calyx armature variable, often lacking or sparse; plants perennial (sometimes annual in S. melongena)
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3a. Inflorescence with mostly 3–6 flowers; corolla 20–30 mm wide, light purple to white; berry 1–1.5 cm long, yellow
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3b. Inflorescence with 1 (–3) flowers; corolla 30–50 mm wide, purple to light purple; berry 5–30 cm long, black, purple, pink, brown, yellow, or white
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2b. Leaf blades conspicuously 1- or 2-times pinnately lobed; calyx loosely to tightly enclosing fruit at maturity; calyx armature always present, of numerous slender prickles [Fig. 916]; plants annual
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4a. Petals yellow; inflorescence pubescent with eglandular hairs
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4b. Petals blue to light purple; inflorescence pubescent with both glandular and eglandular hairs
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5a. All the athers yellow, ± equal; berry loosely enclosed by the accrescent calyx; fruiting pedicels usually spreading
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5b. One of the anthers tinged with light purple, much longer, and curved compared with the other 4 yellow anthers; berry tightly enclosed by the accrescent, often adherent, calyx; fruit pedicels usually erect to ascending
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1b. Leaf blades glabrous or pubescent with simple hairs (sometimes with a few stellate hairs in S. pseudocapsicum); stems and leaf blades unarmed; anthers not tapering to the apex
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6a. Leaf blades pinnately compound; plants perennial (annual in S. lycopersicon)
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7a. Plants climbing or twining; larger leaf blades frequently with 1 or 2 pairs of small basal lobes or leaflets; berry ellipsoid to ovoid (in part)
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7b. Plants upright, though often reclining under the weight of fruits; larger leaf blades with 5–9 primary leaflets (often also with smaller leaflets between the larger ones); berry ± globose
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8a. Plants perennial, from tubers; plants without aromatic, glandular hairs; anthers dehiscing by terminal pores; berry 2–4 cm in diameter, green to purple
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8b. Plants annual; plants pubescent with aromatic, glandular hairs; anthers dehiscing by longitudinal slits; berry 2–10 cm in diameter, red to yellow
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6b. Leaf blades simple, subentire to lobed; plants annual
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9a. Leaf blades evidently pinnately lobed with mostly 5–9 linear to narrow-oblong lobes; inflorescence with (1–) 2 or 3 flowers; berry green
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9b. Leaf blades subentire to toothed or the larger frequently with a pair of small basal lobes or leaflets in S. dulcamara; inflorescence with 1–25 flowers; berry black, green to green-brown, or yellow to red
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10a. Plants climbing or twining; larger leaf blades frequently with 1 or 2 pairs of small basal lobes or leaflets [Fig. 914]; inflorescence with (8–) 10–25 flowers; berry ellipsoid to ovoid (in part)
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10b. Plants erect to spreading; leaf blades simple; inflorescence with 1–10 flowers; berry ± globose
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11a. Plants woody; stems often with some stellate hairs; berry 12–15 (–20) mm in diameter
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11b. Plants herbaceous; stems lacking stellate hairs; berry 5–13 mm in diameter
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12a. Stems glabrous or sparsely pubescent; berry black
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13a. Berries 8–13 mm wide, with 15–60 seeds 1.8–2.2 mm long, without sclerotic granules, dull on the outside surface; anthers 1.8–2.5 mm long; pollen 25–35 μm in diameter; style 3.5–4.5 mm long; inflorescence with usually 5–7 (–10) flowers
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13b. Berries 5–9 mm wide, with 50–110 seeds 1.4–1.8 mm long, with 4–15 sclerotic granules, dull or lustrous; anthers 1.3–2 mm long; pollen 17–23 μm in diameter; style 2.5–3.2 mm long; inflorescence with usually 1–4 flowers [Fig. 915]
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12b. Stems moderately to densely pubescent; berry green, yellow, or red
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14a. Stems pubescent with spreading hairs; calyx accrescent, concealing up to 50% of the fruit at maturity; berry green to green-brown
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14b. Stems densely pubescent with appressed hairs or ascending hairs; calyx not accrescent; berry yellow to red
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Each photo represents one species in this genus.