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Purchase seeds or tubers of Solanum x rechei

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Description

Solanum x rechei is a nothospecies (natural inter-species hybrid) from Argentina.  The parent species were most likely S. microdontum and S. kurtzianum (Clausen 1998).  It is a weedy species, common in a small area of Argentina where its parent species overlap in distribution.  S. x rechei is notable for being a South American species that will tuberize under long days, a relatively rare trait among the South American wild potatoes.

The specific epithet, rechei, honors Ecuadorian botanist Guillermo Reche, who collected and described this species.  While there is no completely standardized pronunciation for scientific names, the most common way to pronounce this species is probably so-LAY-num cross RAY-chay-eye.

Most populations of S. x rechei are diploid, but triploid populations also exist (Clausen 1998).

Jarvis (2008) predicts that this species will become extinct in the wild by 2055 due to climate change.

Resistances

Condition	Type	Level of Resistance	Source
Phytophthora infestans (Late Blight)	Fungus	Not resistant	Bachmann-Pfabe 2019
Globodera pallida (Pale Cyst Nematode)	Invertebrate	Not resistant	Bachmann-Pfabe 2019

Glykoalkaloid content

Tubers that I have sampled had a strong bitter aftertaste, probably indicating that this species is not safe to eat.

Images

Cultivation

Clausen (1998) observed a low rate of pollen staining in this species, indicating reduced male fertility.  I have found that berry production is poor even with hand pollination.

Breeding

Crosses with S. tuberosum

Female	Male	Berry Set	Seed Set	Ploidy	Germ	Source
S. tuberosum	S. rechei	Low	Minimal			Jackson (1999)
S. rechei	S. tuberosum	None	None			Jackson (1999)

Crosses with other species

Jackson (1999) found 8-11% 2n pollen for varieties of this species.

Female	Male	Berry Set	Seed Set	Ploidy	Germ	Source

References

Solanum x rechei at Solanaceae Source

Solanum x rechei at GRIN Taxonomy