Solanum watneyi, a new bush tomato species from the Northern Territory, Australia named for Mark Watney of the book and film “The Martian”

By

Martine, Christopher T.
Frawley, Emma
Cantley, Jason
Jordon-Thaden, Ingrid

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2016

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

61

Pages

1-13

Subjects

andromonoecy , Andy Weir , Gregory National Park , Judbarra , Mark Watney , Matt Damon , Solanum eburneum , Solanum sp. Bullita , The Martian

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.61.6995

 

Abstract

A new species of andromonoecious Solanum from the Australian “bush tomato clade” of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum is described. Solanum watneyi Martine & Frawley, sp. nov. is closely allied with S. eburneum, and is sympatric with it in parts of its range in the Northern Territory. The new species has been recognized as a variant of S. eburneum for decades, at times being referred to by local botanists as Solanum sp. “Bullita” because of its relative abundance in the vicinity of the Bullita Station area of Judbarra/Gregory National Park. Morphometric analyses show that S. watneyi differs statistically from S. eburneum in several key reproductive and vegetative characters and field observations suggest that the two sister species may represent a case of edaphic speciation. We provide morphometric evidence for the novelty of S. watneyi, a complete description, and cite specimens for both species.