Two-colored Andean Berry (Jaltomata bicolor)

Jaltomata bicolor: botany, morphology, and Andean habitat

Jaltomata bicolor is a compact woody shrub growing up to one meter tall in the high-altitude rocky ravines, stone walls, and grassy slopes of the central Peruvian Andes between 3,000 and 5,000 meters above sea level. Its specific epithet, bicolor, refers to its striking tubular blossoms, whose lower two-thirds are painted in deep violet while the upper third contrasts in pale yellow or cream.

A member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), the species was originally collected during the historic Royal Botanical Expedition to Peru and described in 1799 by Spanish botanists Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavón as Atropa bicolor. In 1993, American botanist Thomas Mione transferred the species to its modern home in the genus Jaltomata.

Taxonomy

  • ∟ царство Plantae
  • ∟ division Tracheophytes (Vascular Plants)
  • ∟ subdivision Spermatophytes (Seed plants)
  • ∟ Angiosperms
  • ∟ mesangiosperms (Core angiosperms)
  • ∟ eudicots
  • ∟ core eudicots
  • ∟ asterids
  • ∟ order Solanales
  • ∟ family Solanaceae
  • ∟ genus Jaltomata
  • ∟ species Jaltomata bicolor (Two-colored Andean Berry)

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Morphology

Habit and stems

The plant forms a resilient, branched woody shrub reaching up to 1 meter in height, often anchoring itself in narrow crevices of Andean stone walls and rocky talus slopes. Young shoots are sparsely to densely clothed in dendritic trichomes — microscopic, tree-like branched hairs that insulate the growing tips against cold mountain winds.

Leaves

The smooth, hairless leaves are arranged singly, in pairs, or occasionally in whorls along the woody branches. The leaf blades are predominantly ovate, though they vary considerably in size and margin outline depending on altitude and exposure, ranging from entire to slightly wavy-toothed.

Flowers and fruits

The inflorescences arise as umbel-like clusters bearing two to four (rarely five) pendulous flowers. Each flower features a straight, tubular corolla measuring 2 to 3 centimeters in length, crowned by five narrow, triangular, fleshy lobes that are 3 to 5 millimeters long.

  • Two-tone coloration: The basal two-thirds of the corolla tube are rich violet (occasionally pink or yellowish-green), while the upper third and the five terminal lobes are pale yellow or creamy white.
  • Reproductive organs: The stamens bear dark blue or black anthers that, together with the capitate stigma, project noticeably beyond the mouth of the corolla tube.
  • Berry: Following pollination, the persistent calyx subtends a juicy, globose berry that ripens to a translucent white or occasionally pale blue hue.

Flowering season

Andean rainy and early dry season (December to May)

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Dec

Interesting facts

High-altitude hummingbird engineering

Living at elevations up to 5,000 meters in the Peruvian puna zone, where freezing nights and gale-force winds deter most flying insects, Jaltomata bicolor relies on a highly coordinated pollination partnership with high-Andean hummingbirds. While most lowland species in the genus Jaltomata have flat, wheel-shaped flowers pollinated by bees, this mountain shrub evolved a long, straight floral tube (2 to 3 centimeters long) that acts as an insulated nectar reservoir tailored to a hummingbird's bill.

  • Visual bullseye: The sharp color transition from a deep violet base to a pale cream throat serves as a high-contrast optical guide against grey mountain rocks, directing hovering birds straight into the floral opening.
  • Exserted anthers and stigma: The dark blue anthers and stigma protrude just beyond the corolla rim at the exact distance needed to brush against the forehead and crown feathers of a feeding bird, ensuring precise pollen transfer between isolated cliffside plants.
  • Micro-forest insulation: The outer surface of the young stems and corolla tube is covered in branched, tree-like trichomes up to 1.1 millimeters long, which trap a microscopic boundary layer of still air to protect the developing nectar and ovules from Andean frosts.

Geography of distribution

  • Peru

Sources

Technical Information

Taxon Synonyms: Witheringia biflora, Ulticona biflora, Atropa bicolor, Hebecladus biflorus, Hebecladus intermedius

External Databases: GBIF, POWO, Tropicos

See also

Creeping False Holly

Creeping False Holly

Jaltomata procumbens

A sprawling herbaceous to semi-woody perennial in the nightshade family, native from the southwestern United …

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