title: Solanum watneyi, a new bush tomato species from the Northern Territory, Australia named for Mark Watney of the book and film "The Martian".
abstract: A new species of andromonoecious Solanum from the Australian "bush tomato clade" of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum is described. Solanum watneyi Martine & Frawley, sp. nov. is closely allied with Solanum eburneum, and is sympatric with it in parts of its range in the Northern Territory. The new species has been recognized as a variant of Solanum eburneum for decades, at times being referred to by local botanists as Solanum sp. "Bullita" because of its relative abundance in the vicinity of the Bullita Station area of Judbarra/Gregory National Park. Morphometric analyses show that Solanum watneyi differs statistically from Solanum eburneum in several key reproductive and vegetative characters and field observations suggest that the two sister species may represent a case of edaphic speciation. We provide morphometric evidence for the novelty of Solanum watneyi, a complete description, and cite specimens for both species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Martine
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Emma S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Frawley
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Cantley
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA, USA; University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ingrid E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Jordon-Thaden
keywords: Andy Weir; Gregory National Park; Judbarra; Mark Watney; Matt Damon; Solanum eburneum; Solanum sp. Bullita; The Martian; andromonoecy