Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2026-08-05
Page range: 253-264
Abstract views: 126
PDF downloaded: 2

Jaltomata saxatilis (Solanoideae, Solanaceae), a new species growing on rocky habitats from Mexico

Taxonomía; Evolución y Sistemática Vegetal. Programa de Posgrado en Botánica; Colegio de Postgraduados; Km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco; Montecillo 56264; Mexico; Mexico
Taxonomía; Evolución y Sistemática Vegetal. Programa de Posgrado en Botánica; Colegio de Postgraduados; Km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco; Montecillo 56264; Mexico; Mexico
Taxonomía; Evolución y Sistemática Vegetal. Programa de Posgrado en Botánica; Colegio de Postgraduados; Km 36.5 carretera México-Texcoco; Montecillo 56264; Mexico; Mexico
Laboratorio de Taxonomía Integrativa. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; Universidad Veracruzana; Xalapa; 91190; Veracruz; Mexico
Eudicots endemic Neotropics Solanaceae taxonomy Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Abstract

Mexico is the second center of diversity for Jaltomata (Solanaceae), and new species, along with their range of variation, are still being discovered. In this context, Jaltomata saxatilisis is presented and illustrated as a new species described from the Volcanic Trans-Mexican Belt. This new taxon is found in the pine-oak forests of Puebla and Veracruz, growing among rocks near waterfalls. It can be distinguished from similar species by its combination of purple to black or dark green stems with purple protuberances, elliptic to deltoid leaves with angular-toothed margins, purple petioles, a green calyx with the midvein purple to black at flowering, turning light brown in fruit, and a style that is curved at the apex. A preliminary assessment of conservation status is provided based on the criterion B of the IUCN Red List guidelines. Additionally, a detailed description, a comparison table, and a dichotomous key for all Jaltomata species found in Mexico are also provided. Furthermore, a comparison is made with Mexican specimens cataloged as Saracha.

References

  1. Alfaro-Reyna, T., Retana, J., Arasa-Gisbert, R., Vayreda, J. & Martinez-Vilalta, J. (2020) Recent dynamics of pine and oak forests in Mexico. European Journal of Forest Research 139 (2): 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-020-01258-8
  2. Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., De La Torre, J. & Scott, B. (2011) Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT: geospatial conservation assessment tool. ZooKeys 150: 117–126. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.150.2109
  3. Bohs, L., Keating, R.C., Hollowell, V.C. & Croat, T.B. (2005) A festschrift for William G. D’Arcy: the legacy of a taxonomist. Monographs in Systematic Botany. Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis Missouri, USA, 17 pp.
  4. CONABIO [Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad] (2020) Ecosistemas de México. Available from: https://www.biodiversidad.gob.mx/media/1/ecosistemas/files/EcosistemasMx_extensionDistribucion.pdf (accessed 25 February 2026)
  5. D’Arcy, W.G. (2001) Solanaceae. In: Stevens, W.D., Ulloa, C., Pool, A. & Montiel, O.M. (Eds.) Flora de Nicaragua, Vol 85. Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Missouri, pp. 2376–2426.
  6. D’Arcy, W.G., Mione, T. & Davis, T. (1992) Jaltomata grandiflora (Solanaceae): A rare Mexican species. Novon 2 (3): 190–192. https://doi.org/10.2307/3391545
  7. Davis, T. & Bye, R.A. (1982) Ethnobotany and progressive domestication of Jaltomata (Solanaceae) in Mexico and Central America. Economic Botany 36: 225–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02858722
  8. Davis, T. (1980) The generic relationship of Saracha and Jaltomata (Solanaceae; Solaneae). Rhodora 82: 345–352.
  9. Davis, T. (1986) Jaltomata in the Tarahumara Indian region of northern Mexico. In: D’Arcy, W.G. (Ed.) Solanaceae Biology and Systematics. Columbia Univ. Press, New York, USA, pp. 405–411.
  10. FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] (2020) Statistical database. [https://www.fao.org/faostat/]
  11. Flores-Sánchez, I.D., Sandoval-Villa, M., Uscanga-Mortera, E. & Silva-Rojas, H.V. (2024) Jaltomata tlaxcala, a new species of the genus Jaltomata (Solanaceae, Solanoideae, Solaneae). Phytotaxa 641: 85–98. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.641.2.1
  12. Gentry, J.L. (1973) Jaltomata procumbens. Phytologia 27: 287.
  13. Gentry, J.L. & Standley, P.C. (1974) Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana Botany 24, Pt X, (1 and 2): 42. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.2421
  14. Hunziker, A.T. (1977) Jaltomata repandidentata. Kurtziana 10: 8.
  15. IUCN (2024) Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 16. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/redlistguidelines (accessed 1 February 2026)
  16. JSTOR Global Plants. (2026) JSTOR Global Plants, Jstore, Ithaka. Available from: http://plants.jstor.org/ (accessed 15 January 2026)
  17. Lamarck, J.B. (1786) Physalis philadelphica. Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique 2 (1): 101.
  18. Leiva, G.S., Mione, T. & Yacher, L. (2016) Especies de Jaltomata Schltdl. (Solanaceae) con néctar rojo, tres nuevas combinaciones nomenclaturales y un nuevo taxón del noreste de Perú. Arnaldoa 23: 21–98.
  19. Leiva, G.S., Mione, T., Yacher, L. & Rosario, J.B. (2019) Jaltomata andagarae (Solanaceae) una nueva especie del Norte del Perú. Arnaldoa 26: 473–484. https://doi.org/10.22497/arnaldoa.262.26201
  20. Linnaeus, C. (1953) Nicotiana. Species Plantarum 1: 180.
  21. Linnaeus, C. (1953) Solanum. Species Plantarum 1: 184.
  22. Linnaeus, C. (1953) Capsicum. Species Plantarum 1: 188.
  23. Macías-Macías, A. & Sevilla-Garcia, Y.L. (2023) Making alternative economies in a commercialized environment. The Pochtecatl marketplace in Jalisco, Mexico. Iztapalapa. Revista de ciencias sociales y humanidades 44 (95): 101–133. https://doi.org/10.28928/ri/952023/aot1/maciasmaciasa/sevillagarciay
  24. Martens, M. & Galeotii, H.G. (1845) Saracha geniculata. Bulletin de l’Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles-lettres de Bruxelles 12 (1): 133.
  25. Martínez, M., Vargas-Ponce, O., Rodríguez, A., Chiang, F. & Ocegueda, S. (2017) La familia Solanaceae en México. Botanical Sciences 95: 131–145. https://doi.org/10.17129/botsci.658
  26. Martínez-Flores, M.M., Burgos-Hernández, M., Sánchez, D. & Vázquez-Sánchez, M. (2024) Leaf morphological variation of Jaltomata (Solanoideae: Solanaceae) in Mexico: usefulness in species recognition. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 72: 201–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-024-01975-8
  27. Martínez-Flores, M.M., Burgos-Hernández, M., Martínez-Domínguez, L. & Nicolalde-Morejón, F. (2025) Jaltomata veracruzana (Solaneae, Solanoideae, Solanaceae), a new species from the mountain cloud forests of Veracruz, Mexico. Phytotaxa 712 (2): 141–155. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.712.2.4
  28. McClung de Tapia, E., Martínez-Yrízar, D., Adriano-Morán, C.C. & Ibarra-Morales, E. (2025) Subsistence procurement and production after the demise of Teotihuacan. Latin American Antiquity 37 (1): 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2025.13
  29. Mione, T. (1992) Systematics and evolution of Jaltomata (Solanaceae). PhD Thesis. University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut, USA.
  30. Mione, T. & Bye, R. (1996) Jaltomata chihuahuensis (Solanaceae): A new combination and observations on ecology and ethnobotany. Novon 6: 78–81. https://doi.org/10.2307/3392216
  31. Mione, T. & Dow, J.P. (2023) Floral nectar production of Jaltomata grandiflora, a rare Mexican Nightshade. Journal of Biology and Nature 15: 28−31. https://doi.org/10.56557/joban/2023/v15i28263
  32. Mione, T. & Spooner, D.M. (2010) Jaltomata bohsiana: A new species and key to the Jaltomata (Solanaceae) of Mexico. Novon 20: 186−189. https://doi.org/10.3417/2009025
  33. Mione, T. & Yacher, L.I. (2005) Jaltomata (Solanaceae) of Costa Rica. In: Keating, R.C., Hollowell, V.C. & Croat, T.B. A Festschrift for William G. D’Arcy, The Legacy of a Taxonomist. pp. 117−130.
  34. Mione, T. (2014) Jaltomata Schlechtendal. Central Connecticut State University. Available from: https://web.ccsu.edu/faculty/mione/jaltomat.htm (accessed 20 October 2025)
  35. Mione, T., Wilson, P.R., Kudewicz, J.E. & Chakraborty, S. (2023) Delayed self-fertilization and chemical analysis of floral nectar of a perennial relative of the tomato and potato from Mexico. Botany 101: 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjb-2022-0106
  36. Mione, T., González, S.L. & Yacher, L. (2024) Red-orange floral nectar is the most outstanding feature of Jaltomata amazona (Solanaceae), a new nightshade from Department Amazonas, Peru. Phytologia 106: 7–12.
  37. Morrone, J.J. (2019) Regionalización biogeográfica y evolución biótica de México: encrucijada de la biodiversidad del Nuevo Mundo. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 90. https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2980
  38. Morton, C.V. (1938) Saracha procumbens var. pilosula. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 51: 77.
  39. Motti, R. (2021) The Solanaceae family: botanical features and diversity. In: Carputo, D., Aversano, R. & Ercolano, M.R. (Eds.) The wild Solanums genomes. Compendium of plant genomes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30343-3_1
  40. Nee, M. (1986) Jaltomata. Solanaceae I. Part. II. Flora de Veracruz 49: 76−82.
  41. Olmstead, R., Bohs, L., Migid, H., Santiago-Valentin, E., Garcia, V. & Collier, S. (2008) Molecular phylogeny of the Solanaceae. Taxon 57: 1159−1181. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.574010
  42. Polsgrove, R., Mione, T. & Anderson, G.J. (1993) Heteranthery and post-anthesis filament elongation: the floral biology of Jaltomata repandidentata (Solanaceae). American Journal of Botany 80: 171.
  43. QGIS Development Team. (2023) QGIS Geographic Information System. Open source Geoespatial Foundation Project. Available from: http://qgis.org (accessed 2 March 2026)
  44. Red de Herbarios Mexicanos (2026) Red de Herbarios Mexicanos, Red de Portales SEINet. Available from: https://herbanwmex.net/portal/ (accessed 20 January 2026)
  45. Ruiz, L.H. & Pavón, J.A. (1794) Saracha. Florae Peruvianae, et Chilensis Prodromus 31.
  46. Rzedowski, J. (2020) Jaltomata Schltdl. Solanaceae I. Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes 218: 82–95.
  47. Sandoval-Ortega, M.H., Loera-Ávila, E.E.D., Martínez-Calderón, V.M. & Zumaya-Mendoza, S.G. (2023) Plantas silvestres comestibles del estado de Aguascalientes, México, sus formas de consumo y comercialización. Polibotánica 55: 213–230. https://doi.org/10.18387/polibotanica.55.14
  48. Särkinen, T., Bohs, L., Olmstead, R.G. & Knapp, S. (2013) A phylogenetic framework study of the nightshades (Solanaceae): a dated 1000-tip tree. BMC Evolutionary Biology 13: 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-13-214
  49. Schlechtendal, D.F.L. von. (1838) Jaltomata. Index Seminum [Halle] 8.
  50. Taylor, J. & Mione, T. (2019) Collection of Jaltomata darcyana (Solanaceae), previously unrecorded in cultivation, from a home garden in Chicago, IL. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 35: 490−92. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170519000127
  51. Thiers, B. (2026) [Continuously updated] Index Herbariorum: a global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. Available from: http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ (accessed 10 March 2026)
  52. Vega, I. (2024) Ethnobotany of Jaltomata (Solanaceae). Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut, USA, pp. Master’s Thesis.
  53. Villaseñor, J.L. (2016) Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87 (3): 559–902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmb.2016.06.017
  54. Zhang, J., Stevens, P.F. & Zhang, W. (2017) Evolution of floral zygomorphy in androecium and corolla in Solanaceae. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 55: 581–590. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12275

How to Cite

Villalvazo-Hernández, A., Burgos-Hernández, M., Martínez-Domínguez, L. & Nicalalde-Morejón, F. (2026) Jaltomata saxatilis (Solanoideae, Solanaceae), a new species growing on rocky habitats from Mexico. Phytotaxa 768 (4): 253–264. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.768.4.5