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Plant Profile

Marron Bacora (Solanum conocarpum)

Marron bacora at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden - flower Photo Credit: J. Possley

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: Federally Endangered
Family: Solanaceae
State: VI
Nature Serve ID: 129635
Lifeform: Shrub, Subshrub
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

From USFWS 2011: Solanum conocarpum is a dry-forest shrub of the Solanaceae, or tomato, family that may attain 3 meters (m) (9.8 feet (ft)) in height. Its leaves are oblongelliptic or oblanceolate (broader at the distal third than the middle), range in size from 3.5 to 7 centimeters (cm) (0.62 to 1.5 inches (in) wide, are coriaceous (leathery texture) and glabrous (no hairs), and have a conspicuous yellowish midvein. The flowers are usually paired in nearly sessile (not stalked) lateral or terminal cymes (flattopped flower cluster). The corolla consists of five separate petals that are light violet, greenish at the base, and about 2 cm (0.78 in) wide. The fruit, a berry, is ovoid-conical (teardrop shaped), 2 to 3 cm (0.78 to 1.2 in) long, and turns from green with white striations to golden yellow when ripe (Acevedo-Rodrı´guez 1996, p. 415). Little is known about the natural history, reproductive biology, and effects of herbivory on the species (Ray and Stanford 2003, p. 3).

Where is Marron Bacora (Solanum conocarpum) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Lower elevation coastal scrub forest

Distribution:

Long thought to be endemic to St. John, USVI. In 2017, a handful of plants were discovered on Tortola Island, BVI. Fewer than 300 individuals are known to exist in the wild.

States & Provinces:

Marron Bacora can be found in Virgin Islands

Which CPC Partners conserve Marron Bacora (Solanum conocarpum)?

St. George Village Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 03/22/19

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Solanum conocarpum is endemic to the island of St. John and is known from eight populations, four of which are represented by only one individual. The occurrence of this species on St. Thomas and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands has not been confirmed. On St. John, there are fewer than 200 naturally-occurring individuals. Most populations consist of mature individuals and very little natural recruitment has been observed in the wild. Populations are fragmented and the species has low levels of genetic diversity. Solanum conocarpum is threatened by housing and tourism development, trail and facility maintenance, and possibly by herbivory from both native and non-native species. Several populations have been augmented with reintroduced species but it is too early to tell if the reintroductions will be successful.