Solanum medusae Gouvêa

Decumbent, spreading shrub to 1 m tall and 3 m in diameter, strongly armed. Young stems terete, green to deep purple, the epidermis sometimes with a varnished appearance, nearly glabrous to pubescent with porrect short- to long-stalked stellate trichomes, the stalks up to 2 mm long, multiseriate, the rays 6–8(–11), 0.2–0.5 mm long, the midpoints shorter than or equal in length to the rays, glandular or eglandular; the stem surface more densely covered with variously sized simple glandular trichomes; smaller papillae-like glandular trichomes 0.1–0.2 mm long, 1–4-celled, uniseriate, the gland single-celled; and longer glandular trichomes to 0.5(–1.8) mm long, multiseriate at the base with single-celled apical glands; prickles (0.2–)0.5–0.7(–0.9) cm long, orange-yellow, broad-based and strongly curved, the base 1–5 mm wide; new growth densely tomentose to pubescent, prickly, pale beige in color in dried plants; stellate trichomes with multiseriate stalks 0.5–1 mm long, the rays 6–10, ca. 0.5 mm long, the glandular or eglandular midpoint shorter than the rays; simple glandular trichomes denser than the stellate trichomes, the shorter papillae-like ones uniseriate, to 0.2 mm long, and the longer ones to 1.5 mm long, multiseriate at the base; prickles 1–5 mm long, strongly curved, yellow, usually tipped with stellate trichomes and sparsely to densely pubescent on the surface with short- to long-stalked stellate trichomes and simple glandular trichomes; bark of older stems reddish purple in live plants and shiny dark reddish brown in herbarium specimens. Sympodial units difoliate, the leaves not geminate. Leaves simple, shallowly lobed, the blades 9–22 cm long, 3–9.3 cm wide, narrowly ovate or trowel-shaped, widest in the lower third, chartaceous, concolorous, armed on both surfaces with curved yellow prickles 0.1–1 cm long, these denser abaxially; adaxial surface epidermis always visible, usually shiny with a varnished appearance, uniformly and sparsely to moderately pubescent with porrect stellate short- to long-stalked trichomes, the stalk 0.2–0.5 mm long, multiseriate, the rays 6–8(10), 0.2–0.5 mm long, the midpoint shorter than the rays and occasionally glandular, these sometimes more densely distributed near the margins, more densely pubescent with simple uniseriate papillae-like glandular trichomes to 0.2 mm long, and 2–3 celled gland-tipped simple trichomes from a multiseriate base; abaxial surface with the epidermis always visible, usually shiny with a varnished appearance, moderately to densely pubescent with stellate and simple trichomes like those of the adaxial surfaces, but the simple glandular trichomes and papillae denser on the lamina; principal veins 4–8 pairs, the finer venation prominent, pale yellow and visible as a complex net on the abaxial surfaces, prickly with curved yellow prickles; base attenuate to abruptly truncate, obtuse or rounded, if attenuate then decurrent onto the petiole, asymmetric or not; margins shallowly lobed, the lobes (1)3–4 on each side of the midvein, rounded and semi-circular in outline, the sinuses less than 1/3 of the distance to the midvein; apex long acuminate, the ultimate tip somewhat rounded; petiole 0.5–5.5 cm long, pubescent like the stems, armed with prickles like those of the stems. Inflorescences 4.5–12 cm long, internodal, usually unbranched, less frequently furcate, with 4–15 flowers, sparsely to densely stellate-pubescent and densely glandular pubescent with trichomes like the stems, densely and irregularly prickly along the entire axis with curved yellow prickles 0.1–0.7 cm long, peduncle 1–2 cm long, prickly and pubescent; pedicels 0.6–2 cm long, ca. 1–1.5 mm in diameter at base and apex, spreading, sparsely to densely prickly, the prickles ca. 5 mm long, straight, usually denser on the basal flower, but in more pubescent individuals all pedicels prickly, articulated at the base; pedicel scars widely spaced 1–2 cm apart near the base of the inflorescence, more closely spaced distally. Buds long-fusiform and tapering, the corolla included in the fused calyx lobes until just before anthesis. Flowers 5-merous (occasionally 4-merous some flowers), slightly zygomorphic (see discussion), heteromorphic, 1(–3) long-styled hermaphroditic flowers at the base of the inflorescence, more distal flowers short-styled and functionally staminate, the plants andromonoecious. Calyx with the tube ca. 3 mm long, obconical to cupuliform, pubescent like the rest of the inflorescence, densely prickly with straight yellow prickles; the lobes 1.2–2 cm long, foliose, lanceolate to long-triangular, strongly reflexed at anthesis, abaxially pubescent and prickly like the rest of the inflorescence, adaxially pubescent with minute sessile or short-stalked porrect-stellate trichomes to 0.2 mm long, the basal hermaphroditic flower more densely prickly and more distal flower calyces often lacking prickles. Corolla 3–6.5 cm in diameter, deep purple in younger flowers, becoming lilac with flower age, the color deeper adaxially, stellate, lobed ca. halfway to the base, the lobes 0.9–2.5 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, spreading, slightly to strongly reflexed at anthesis, abaxially densely stellate-pubescent where exposed in bud, the interpetalar tissue glabrous, adaxially densely papillate with minute stellate trichomes along the midvein, the tips acuminate, the acumens 3–4 mm long, cucullate and densely stellate-pubescent abaxially. Stamens slightly unequal, the upper 2 slightly shorter than the other 3; filament tube 0.8–1.5 mm long, glabrous; free portion of the filaments 1.4–2.5 mm long, glabrous; anthers 12.5–18.5 mm long, 1.7–2.6 mm wide at the base, strongly tapering, the 3 lower longer anthers more or less curved upward in their distal portion, yellow, poricidal at the tips, the pores distally directed, the connective abaxially pubescent with weak-walled white to deep purple stellate trichomes along the entire length. Ovary globose, densely stellate-pubescent with hyaline eglandular many-rayed trichomes, the rays and midpoints equal and not easily distinguishable; style 15–19 mm long in long-styled flowers, curved upwards, glabrous to moderately brown-stalked stellate-pubescent in the basal half, densely glandular papillate near the apex; stigma capitate to strongly bi-lobed (or sometimes with several irregular lobes), green in live plants, the surface densely papillate. Fruit a globose or depressed-globose berry, 7–15 cm in diameter, green becoming yellowish green and sweetly fragrant when ripe, the pericarp smooth, sparsely pubescent with minute stellate trichomes, especially near the pedicel, the mesocarp spongy, pale cream; fruiting pedicels 1.8–2.5 cm long, 1.1–1.3 cm in diameter at the base, 6.5–8.5 mm in diameter at the apex, fleshy in live plants, woody in dry specimens, strongly deflexed downwards so some fruits rest on the soil; fruiting calyx lobes ca. 2 cm long, persistent, prickly or not. Seeds > 100 per berry, 6–7 mm long, 5–6.2 mm wide, flattened reniform, dark brown to blackish brown, drying gray to dark gray, the surfaces minutely pitted, the testal cells sinuate in outline. Chromosome number not known.

(Figure 4). Solanummedusae is only known from the region of the Serra da Canastra in southwestern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It has been collected from six municipalities located northeast (Campinópolis, Piumhi, São José do Barreiro and São Roque de Minas), north (São João Batista da Serra) and west (Sacramento) of the Serra da Canastra.