Description, habitat and geographic distribution of the genus Jaltomata (Solanaceae) |
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The information on this page may be cited as a communication with professor Thomas Mione, Central Connecticut State University, Biology Department, Copernicus Hall, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, Connecticut 06050-4010, United States of America. | Link to Jaltomata home page |
Description: Similar Genera Jaltomata differs from Physalis by the former having a fruiting calyx that does not enclose the berry, while the fruiting calyx of Physalis encloses the berry. Jaltomata differs from Solanum by the former having longitudinal anther dehiscence and an ovarian nectar disk producing nectar, while Solanum has anthers with terminal pores and no ovarian disk nor nectar. Jaltomata differs from Cuatresia by the former having basal pedicel articulation while the latter lacks pedicel articulation (Hunziker, 1987). |
Habitat: I have collected Jaltomata species most commonly along roadsides where the native vegetation is still present to some extent. If the native vegetation has been entirely eliminated for agriculture I usually can't find Jaltomata. In other words, most species are tolerant of a considerable amount of open sun, but not completely open sun. However, J. nigricolor and J. salpoensis are found in completely open sun, with no shade whatsoever. In the Andes, rock walls and steep roadside embankments are common habitats of Jaltomata species. The easiest way to find J. repandidentata is in coffee plantations that have not been weeded (Mexico to Bolivia), the coffee plants providing considerable shade. Even in the forest, when I have found Jaltomata it was along a trail or gravel road (Costa Rica) where light was entering through the canopy at least part of the day. In Mexico, the easiest way to find J. procumbens is in corn fields that have not been weeded, the corn plants usually providing shade depending on the height of the corn. Some Jaltomata species do not stand alone, and require other plants to grown among (J. dendroidea and J. pallascana, for example); here the physical support of other plants and the shade of other plants are inseparable. One species grows, with few exceptions, in between or very near the spiny leaves of Puya. Most Jaltomata species are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of dry to moist habitats. On the wet end of the spectrum there are ecotypes of J. procumbens that reside in the rainforest, for example I have seen them in Costa Rica at high elevation, including an epiphyte at Monteverde. As well, J. werffii grows on wet slopes (Galápagos Islands). On the dry end of the spectrum are the species that reside in the lomas. And the not yet named species having both green fruits and red/orange nectar dies back to the ground for several months of the year; its habitat is seasonally dry. One of the lomas species has deciduous leaves, and it may receive no rainfall for months, and then when the fog returns, approximately in August, the leaves emerge again. |
Geographic Distribution: The approximately 50 species of Jaltomata are distributed from southeastern Arizona, USA (Kearney and Peebles, 1951) to southern Bolivia (Morton, 1944), on three of the Galápagos Islands (D'Arcy, 1982), and on the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico; Adams, 1972; Davis and Bye, 1982; Liogier and Martorell, 1982). The majority of the species are Andean but one of the most common species, J. repandidentata, extends throughout much of the continental range of the genus, from Mexico to Bolivia (Mione and Yacher, 2005). Highest Collection: J. yungayensis at 4,150 m of elevation (J. Mostacero L, S. Leiva G. et al. 1897) In the department of Cajamarca, Peru, there are over 20 distinct and defendable species! Link to Jaltomata of Cajamarca. |
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Figure 1. Inflorescences are normally umbel-like in the genus Jaltomata (J. procumbens, photo by Mione) |
Figure 2. A few species of the genus Jaltomata have branched-umbel-like inflorescences (J. bernardelloana photo by Mione in Peru). |