Solanum baretiae is a species of flowering plant in the genus Solanum, a member of the nightshade family that includes the potato and the tomato. It belongs to the section Anarrhichomenum and has similarities to Solanum chimborazense. The plant is found in the Andes in southern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. It was described by American botanist Eric J. Tepe in 2012 and named after Jeanne Baret, a French botanist who was the first woman to circumnavigate the world, disguised as a man and as assistant of Philibert Commerson. The plant occurs in a variety of habitats; its conservation status is classified as least concern.
Description
Solanum baretiae. A: Habit. B: Flower with reflexed corolla and bud. C: Flower with flat corolla. D: Mature fruit. E: Immature fruit.
Solanum baretiae is a species of Solanum that is similar to Solanum chimborazense, but has more and larger flowers and different patterns of pubescence. Solanum baretiae is a vine that can grow along the ground or on other plants, reaching up to 3 metres (9.8 ft). It usually has leaves that are 3-pinnate to 5-pinnate, but they can be between simple and 7-pinnate. The number of possible leaflet counts is unusually high; the only other species in the Anarrhichomenum section with the same variability is Solanum sodiroi. Its flowers grow in small clusters of one to eight (more on the main stems, up to three on the shoots) and have both male and female structures. The petals are arranged as a pentagonal corolla of 0.8 to 1.5 cm (0.31 to 0.59 in) diameter, in shades of violet to white with some yellow. The fruit is ellipsoidal, about 2 to 2.5 cm (0.79 to 0.98 in) long and 1.5 to 2 cm (0.59 to 0.79 in) wide, and green when immature, turning to orange. The seeds are fairly flat with a round or teardrop-like shape and a length of 3 to 4.2 mm (0.12 to 0.17 in), coloured light to medium brown with smooth surfaces and radial lines on the wing.
