Solanum oxycarpum

Description

Solanum oxycarpum distribution Map note

Solanum oxycarpum is a central Mexican species, primarily found in cloud forest habitats.  Plants reach six feet tall.  Flowers blue to purple.  Berries long and conical.  Tubers small and whitish.  Correll (1962) reports that this species does not always form tubers.

The specific epithet, oxycarpum, means “sharp fruit,” referring to the pointed berries of this species.  It is formed from the Greek words “oxys,” for “sharp,” and “karpos,” for “fruit.”  While there is no completely standardized pronunciation for scientific names, the most common way to pronounce this species is probably so-LAY-num ox-ee-KAR-pum.

Anaylsis of AFLP markers could not find a clear species boundary between S. agrimoniifolium and S. oxycarpum (Jimenez 2008) and neither could phenetic analysis (Fajardo 2008), so it is possible that these species will be combined in the future.  It is also possible that the species are distinct but frequently interbreed.

Resistances

Condition Type Level of Resistance Source
Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado Potato Beetle) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Phytophthora infestans (Late Blight) Fungus Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015

Glykoalkaloid content

Images

Cultivation

Towill (1983) found that seeds of this species stored at 1 to 3 degrees C germinated at 24 to 100% after 27 years.

Breeding

Crosses with S. tuberosum

Female Male Berry Set
 Seed Set Ploidy Germ Source

Crosses with other species

Watanabe (1991) found that 9.2% of varieties of this species produced 2n pollen, which would be effectively octaploid and 4EBN.

Female Male Berry Set
 Seed Set Ploidy Germ Source

References

Solanum oxycarpum at Solanaceae Source

Solanum oxycarpum at GRIN Taxonomy