Tropical Asian spiny solanums (2016)

Static dataset of species identities and coordinates for specimens used to create Figure 2 in Aubriot et al. (see Abstract and publication details below). Data presented here are only to the level of Senior Collector [collector], Collector Number [collection number], Species name [species name], Country of Collection [country], Latitude [declat], Longitude [declon] and Elevation [altrange]. Complete locality and specimen label data can be found on the Solanaceae Source website (www.solanaceaesource.org) with updated species identifications as taxonomic knowledge improves. Data are presented in three formats: 1) xls file, 2) comma-delimited CSV file, and 3) pdf file of the map generated from these data. Aubriot X, Singh P, Knapp S. (2016) Tropical Asian species show the Old World clade of “spiny solanums” (_Solanum_ subgenus _Leptostemonum_ Bitter pro parte: Solanaceae) is not monophyletic. _Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society_ xxx: xxx-xxx (January 2016). __ABSTRACT.__ The tropical Asian taxa of the species-rich genus _Solanum_ (Solanaceae) have been less well-studied than their highly diverse New World relatives. The large majority of these tropical Asian species, including the cultivated brinjal eggplant/aubergine and its wild progenitor, are part of the largest monophyletic _Solanum_ lineage, the “spiny solanums” (subgenus Leptostemonum or the Leptostemonum clade). Here we present the first phylogenetic analysis of spiny solanums that includes broad sampling of the tropical Asian species, with 42 of the 56 currently recognised species represented. Two nuclear and three plastid regions (ITS, _waxy_, _ndhF-rpL32_, _trnS-trnG_ and _trnT-trnF_) were amplified and used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships using ML and Bayesian methods. Our analyses show that Old World spiny solanums do not all resolve in a single clade, but are part of three unrelated lineages, suggesting at least three independent introductions from the New World. We identify and describe several monophyletic groups within Old World solanums that have not been previously recognized. Some of these lineages are very coherent in terms of morphology and geography, while others show considerable morphological variation and enigmatic distribution patterns. Tropical Asia occupies a key position in the biogeography of Old World spiny solanums, with tropical Asian taxa resolved as the closest relatives of diverse groups of species from both Australia and Africa.