Dear friends Solanum viarum and Solanum capsicoides (and S. aculeatissimum) are closely related but distinct species that have an interesting history in Indian context. Clarke in Flora of British India described *Solanum khasianum*Clarke characterized by hisute stems, straight spreading prickles, deeply lobed hirsute leaves covered with up to 2 cm long straight prickles on both surfaces, flowers in lateral clusters of 1-4 flowers, nearly 2 cm across flowers (white to pink), hirsute unarmed calyx and 2 cm across yellow berries, with fruiting calyx about 8 mm long. Distributed in Khasia hills Assam and Manipur. This species is now known to be the synonym of *Solanum aculeatissimum* Jacq.
Flora of Britsh India also described Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq. characterised by very slender straight prickles, lobed leaves which are sparsely hairy, 1-7 flowered clusters, each producing usually one fruit, berry 3 cm; calyx in fruit prickly but barely 6 mm long and seeds winged. It also has berry which is pale green with dark markings when young orange red when mature. This plant of Clarke as understood now is *Solanum capsicoides All.* and not S. aculeatissimum Jacq., In 1961 Sen Gupta established a distinct variety from Nilghiri mountains in Tamil Nadu, differentiated by softly pubescent plants, densely glandular pubescence, distinctly recurved prickles on stem, shallowly lobed leaves, prickly calyx with shorter ovate or deltoid lobes and pubescent ovary. This variety is now being considered as synonym of *Solanum viarum* Dunal. Although The Plant list treats Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq. as synonym of S. capsicoides ll., both GRIN (updated November, 2010) and Flora of China treat them distinct. In any case we should be looking for three types of plants *Solanum viarum:* Yellow berries, densely hairy and glandular pubescent stems and leaves, short broad based curved (barely 5 mm long) prickles in addition to long straight ones on stem and straight strong up to 18 mm long on petiole and both leaf surfaces, densely glandular and sparsely prickly calyx, and shallowly lobed leaves. *Solanum capsicoides*: Berries orange red when mature, green with dark green markings when young; stems with slender delicate priclkles; leaves some what shining, sparsely hairy, deeply lobed, shorter prickly calyx. *Solanum aculeatissimum*: Yellow berries, straight prickles, more hairy deeply lobed leaves , hirsute unarmed calyx with longer fruiting calyx. Solanum viarum has been uploaded by Vijayasankar ji from Manipur and by me by from Morni hills area https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/indiantreepix/%5Befloraofindia:66365%5D$20Solanaceae$20Week:$20Solanum$20viarum$20from$20Manipur/indiantreepix/fk0QJn-Fn5Y/buFsr47DttIJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/indiantreepix/Solanaceae$20Week:$20Solanum$20viarum$20from$20Morni$20Hill$20tract$20%09/indiantreepix/J8ynRaSeHbw/OJbxBO9eaaMJ Solanum capsicoides was uploaded by Yazdy ji from Wayanad https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/indiantreepix/Solanum$20capsicoides/indiantreepix/cErahhf30yw/mGevhxSYubYJ Perhaps some member can upload the third species. It should be common in Assam and Manipur -- Dr. Gurcharan Singh Retired Associate Professor SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/
