Origins of Solanum Lasiocarpum and S. Repandum

Solanum candidum of tropical America is very similar to S. lasiocarpum of southeastern Asia and S. sessiliflorum , a wild and domesticated plant of the Amazon basin, is very similar to S. repandum , a weed and domesticated plant of Oceania. Artificial hybrids between S. candidum and S. lasiocarpum are fertile, and it is postulated that S. lasiocarpum resulted from a Spanish introduction of S. candidum to Asia. Hybrids between S. repandum and S. sessiliflorum show considerable reduction in fertility and abnormalities at meiosis, whereas hybrids of both S. candidum and S. lasiocarpum with S. repandum are fertile. It is concluded that it is likely that S. repandum did not arise from S. sessiliflorum but from S. lasiocarpum or S. candidum. This would mean that the similarity of S. repandum to S. sessiliflorum results from convergence.