Light sprout morphology of wild tuberiferous Solanum species

The morphology of light sprouts produced by tubers of the wild relatives of the cultivated potato was studied in order to determine its usefulness for the classification of wild tuberiferous Solanum species. Light sprout morphology is routinely used in tests to distinguish potato cultivars but it has not yet been applied to wild species. An advantage of this method is that the influence of environmental factors on the morphological characters of these phenotypically plastic plants is avoided. The results indicate that light sprout morphology can be used to characterize species and species groups. The implications for the current taxonomic system of the wild tuberiferous Solanum species are discussed.