Solanum mammosum L., Solanaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: ru qie

English: nipple fruit

French: pomme zombi

Samoan: lapiti, lapiti

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Annual to shrubby perennial, to 1.5 m tall, stems flexuous, white and brown simple pubescent with a few porrect-stellate hair clusters, with spines 11-14 mm long, flattened, straight or curved.  Leaves with petioles 20-45 mm long, blades orbicular in outline, 6-14 x 7-14 cm, base slightly cordate, apex acute, margins sharply angular or dentate, white pilose on both surfaces, acicular spines on midrib and veins below.  Inflorescence congested umbelliform, 1- or 2- to 6-flowered, pedicels 6-10 mm long, villose; calyx campanulate, 5 mm in diameter, lobes linear acuminate 5 mm long, villose; corolla 18-24 mm long, lobes lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, purple; anthers 9-12 mm long.  Berry 32-60 mm long, 30-45 mm in diameter, mammose, the basal protuberances 3 or 5, orange, shiny."  (Howard, 1989)"Shrub with spiny stems, pinnately lobed, spiny alternate leaves, purple rotate flowers, and a large orange, irregularly shaped berry" (Whistler, 1988; p. 37).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "infrequently cultivated near sea level" (Smith, 1991; p. 11).  In Samoa, "rare in pastures on central Upolu" (Whistler, 1988; p. 37).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Greater Antilles, Central and South America.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 11) Vouchers cited: DA 8992 (L.2952, L.3437)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) (p. Voucher specimens) Vouchers cited: Flynn 5275 (BISH 634129), Lorence 7416 (BISH 637260)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2011) (p. Voucher specimens) Vouchers cited: UH students s.n. (BISH 645582), Neal s.n. (BISH 70056), Suehiro s.n. (BISH 567709)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2012) (p. 51) Voucher cited: D. Frohlich & A. Lau 2010032201 (BISH) Apparently naturalized in a parking lot.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 132) Voucher cited: MacKee 31708
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago	introduced cultivated	Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty] (1984) (p. 496) Abundant; planted by the natives as ornamentals or curiosities.
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Islands	Bougainville Island		Foreman, D. B. (1971) (p. 59)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Merrill, Elmer D. (1923) (p. 427) In thickets and weaste places along roads at low altitudes.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 37)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 109)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) 200-1300 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 220) Ornamental.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 80) Cultivated only

Additional information:
Information from Solanaceae Source.

Additional online information about Solanum mammosum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Solanum mammosum as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Solanum mammosum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Foreman, D. B. 1971. A check list of the vascular plants of Bougainville, with descriptions of some common forest trees. Botany Bulletin No. 5. Division of Botany, Department of Forests. Lae, New Guinea. 194 pp.

Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex. 2012. New plant records for the Hawaiian Islands 2010-2011. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2011. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 113:27-54.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Howard, Richard A. 1989. Flora of the Lesser Antilles: Leeward and Windward Islands. Vol. 6 Dicotyledoneae-Part 3 Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 658 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2011. Annotated Checklist of Cultivated Plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1923. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 3 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 628 pp.

Peekel, P. G. [translated by E. E. Henty]. 1984. Flora of the Bismarck Archipelago for naturalists. Office of Forests, Division of Botany, Lae, Papua New Guinea. 638 pp. ISBN 9980-66-000-7.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Plants in Samoan culture: The ethnobotany of Samoa. Isle Botanica. 234 pp. ISB: 0-9645426-6-8.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).