''Solanum cinereum'', commonly known as Narrawa burr, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

. It has dark green, spiny leaves and purple flowers and grows in open woodland in south eastern Australia.

Description

''Solanum cinereum'' is a small, upright, sparse, sprawling or bushy, perennial shrub to high. The leaves are oval to elliptic shaped, long, wide, heavily lobed, shiny, smooth, upper surface dark green, with conspicuous, long, spiny thorns to long, lower surface whitish to light yellow, covered densely with small star-shaped hairs and the

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

long. The flowers are borne singly or in small clusters with four yellow

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

, in diameter, mauve to purple on a peduncle usually long. Flowering occurs mostly from spring to autumn and the fruit is a globose-shaped berry, usually in diameter, pale green with darker streaks and turning brown at maturity.

Taxonomy and naming

''Solanum cinereum'' was first formally described in 1810 by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

and the description was published in ''

Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''cinereum'') means "ash-coloured" referring to the lower surface of the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

Narrawa burr grows in woodland, dry forests and disturbed sites in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. It is considered a weed in farmland, because it is poisonous to sheep, cattle, and possibly horses.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17400553 cinerea Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of the Australian Capital Territory