Figure 1. Two open flowers, anthers dehisced (Plowman & Davis 4449 grown as Mione 450, photo by T. Mione)

Figure 2. Back of flower (Plowman & Davis 4449 grown as Mione 450, photo by T. Mione)

Figure 3. Potted plant of Jaltomata auriculata (Plowman & Davis 4449 grown as Mione 450, photo by T. Mione)

Figure 4. Ripe Fruits of Jaltomata auriculata (Plowman & Davis 4449 grown as Mione 450, photo by T. Mione)

For the living plants shown in photos, seeds were germinated at Central Connecticut State University and plants were grown outdoors in Burlington, CT, during the summer of 2003.

transfer to the genus Jaltomata: Brittonia 51(1) 1999, pages 31-32.
Saracha auriculata Miers, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 2, 3: 448. 1849. Miers, Illustr. S. Amer. Pl. 2: 18, t. 38A. 1857.  
Witheringia auriculata (Miers) Miers, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 2, 11: 92. 1853.  
TYPE: COLOMBIA. Dept. Tolima, Playas del Combeima, 4 o 19' N, 75 o 09' W, J. Goudot s.n . (HOLOTYPE: K; ISOTYPE: P, photo of P specimen, F neg. 39249).   The taxonomic transfer of this species from Saracha to Jaltomata was proposed by Castillo (unpublished, 1974, page 115).

stigma overhead dimensions 0.5 - 0.6 mm by 0.6 - 0.8 mm. Description unless otherwise noted based on plants grown from seeds of Plowman & Davis 4449.  

     Diagnostic Features: glabrate, small white flowers, pubescent/villous filaments, bright red fruits.  

    Distribution and Ecology: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and one specimen from Bolivia; usually collected between 1400 m and 2100 m (see elevation column in table below), usually in disturbed habitats including roadsides.   Flowering and fruiting in the months listed below in the table of collections.   Jaltomata auriculata is autogamous and self-compatible; fruits were abundantly self-set in a pollinator-free greenhouse.   Fruits are bright red, 5 - 11 mm across, and remain attached to the parent plant after ripening, suggesting bird dispersal. When ripe fruits are manually removed or fall the calyx and pedicel usually remain attached to plant.  

     Jaltomata auriculata resembles J. nitida (Bitter) Mione. Both possess glabrate leaves, white flowers and orange to red fruits. They are easily distinguished, however, as the filaments of J. auriculata are villous along the lower half, and the calyx diameter (at fruit maturity) is less than 16 mm, whereas J. nitida has glabrous filaments and the calyx diameter (at fruit maturity) is greater than 16 mm.   Jaltomata auriculata is also similar to J. antillana, especially when plants are young, but lacks gland-tipped hairs present on J. antillana.  

     Geographic Distribution: Andean South America, see this table:

Figure 5. Corolla Margin Trichomes (fresh tissue stained for 5 to 15 min in neutral red, photo by T. Mione)	Figure 6. The ruler (resting on the pot) is one foot long. Note the ripe fruit (red) towards the base of the plant.