Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Solanum esuriale
Quena
Solanaceae
Woodland, shrubland, grassy areas, disturbed sites, and along seasonal watercourses. Western Slopes.
Perennial herb to 0.3 m tall, sometimes forming dense patches. Usually has no prickles, some plants having a few prickles towards the base of the plant. Stems densely stellate hairy (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see). Leaves alternating up the stems, 2-8 cm long, 4-30 mm wide, grey-green, stellate hairy, tips pointed or blunt, margins entire or slightly wavy. Lower leaves with lobed and wavy margins, upper leaves entire or the margins scarcely lobed. Flowers purple to mauve, sometimes white, 15–25 mm in diameter, broadly tubular with 5 lobes or star-shaped, in open clusters of 2-6 flowers. Ripe fruit yellow to yellow brown, not fleshy.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Solanum~esuriale (accessed 7 February, 2021)
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