Solanum forsskalii Dunal
S. albicaule Dunal
Ara.: Abu shuka.
Deciduous shrub, hermaphrodite, up to 1 m in height, densely covered by a whitish or ash-grey indumentum of branched hairs, particularly on young stems, with stems and branches densely covered with uncinate spines. Leaves alternate, shortly petiolate, with petiole up to 15 mm and leaf blade up to 3.5 × 3 cm, ovate, entire or undulate or sinuate, obtuse and base rounded, truncated or subcuneate, sometimes slightly oblique, usually unarmed and densely grey-tomentose, particularly on the underside. Inflorescences in cincinni, along the floral stems (not axillary), simple or dichasial, up to 7 cm, with peduncle up to 1 cm. Calyx campanulate, with 5 lanceolate lobes. Corolla with 5 fused petals, 20-25 mm in diameter, rotate, violet, stellate-tomentose on the external side. Stamens ± the same length, with anthers 5-7.5 mm. Ovary glabrous. Fruit a berry c. 7 mm, orange, suberect, patent or pendular.
Flowering:
January to August.
Fruiting:
March to September.
Habitat:
Arid, semidesert areas.
Distribution:
SubSaharan Africa, from Senegal to Ethiopia, reaching in the N, along the coastal regions of the Red Sea to the Jebel Elba and surrounding mountain ranges.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000) it is listed as “Indeterminate”.