Green-flowered Andean Berry (Jaltomata viridiflora)

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Jaltomata viridiflora: High-Andean Green-Flowered Nightshade Profile

Jaltomata viridiflora is a velvety-leaved herbaceous plant or scrambling shrub up to two meters tall that grows across the high Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru at elevations between 2,500 and 3,400 meters. Its specific epithet viridiflora translates from Latin as "green-flowered," highlighting its tubular pale green blossoms that later give way to flattened orange-red berries.

Belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae), the species was first described in 1818 by the German botanist Carl Sigismund Kunth as Atropa viridiflora from collections made during Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland's South American expedition. In 1993, Michael Nee and Thomas Mione transferred the taxon to 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 viridiflora (Green-flowered Andean Berry)

Morphology

Habit and velvety indumentum

Jaltomata viridiflora develops as an erect or occasionally scrambling shrub reaching up to 2 meters in height. Its young shoots and ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaf blades are densely covered in a velvety to felt-like coat of multicellular, unbranched trichomes (plant hairs), some of which terminate in microscopic glandular heads.

Tubular flowers

The inflorescences typically carry pairs of flowers—or occasionally between one and four blooms—that hang from the leaf axils. Their reproductive and perianth organs exhibit several characteristic features:

The tubular corolla measures 1 to 2 cm in length and displays a pale green, or more rarely whitish to pale yellow, hue.
At the mouth of the tube, five larger corolla lobes alternate with five smaller lobules, all of which have distinctly thickened, cushion-like (bullate) tissue.
The five stamens bear anthers 1.7 to 2.2 mm long on filaments that can vary in length within the same flower, while both the stamens and the stigma may project up to 5 mm beyond the corolla mouth.

Fruits

Once fertilized, the ovary swells into a slightly flattened, spherical berry (oblate in shape) measuring 10 to 12 mm in length and 13 to 19 mm in diameter. As the fruit ripens, its skin turns bright orange to reddish.

Applications

Across the high Andean valleys of Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru, the sweet, juicy orange-red berries of Jaltomata viridiflora are harvested from wild plants by local residents and consumed fresh. The species is also maintained in living botanical collections to study high-altitude pollination syndromes in the family Solanaceae.

Interesting facts

Thermal insulation and hummingbird mechanics in the subpáramo

Living at elevations between 2,500 and 3,400 meters in the Andean subpáramo, Jaltomata viridiflora faces intense ultraviolet radiation by day and near-freezing temperatures by night, where cold winds restrict the activity of insect pollinators. In response, the plant combines a high-mountain thermal coat with a tubular floral architecture tailored for high-elevation hummingbirds.

The structural details of its foliage and blossoms work together to maintain tissue warmth and ensure reliable pollen transfer in thin mountain air:

A dense, velvety blanket of multicellular uniseriate trichomes covers the young stems and leaves, trapping a boundary layer of still air against the epidermis to buffer the plant against rapid night frosts and high-altitude moisture loss.
The elongated, 1 to 2 cm tubular corolla restricts access to long-billed Andean hummingbirds, while the thickened, cushion-like rims of the ten alternating corolla lobes reinforce the entrance of the tube against mechanical wear during repeated hovering visits.

Geography of distribution

Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Venezuela

Sources

Technical Information

Taxon Synonyms: Hebecladus viridiflorus, Hebecladus lanceolatus, Atropa viridiflora, Hebecladus mollis, Atropa flexuosa, Ulticona viridiflora

External Databases: GBIF, POWO, Tropicos

Green-flowered Andean Berry (Jaltomata viridiflora)