Solanum laciniatum
Poisonous plant
Common names
poroporo, bullibulli
Biostatus
Native
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Simplified description
Fleshy shrub to 4 m tall bearing dark green thin wide leaves that are divided into 1-3 large sharp lobes and with large, purplish, ruffled flowers that have a projecting yellow centre. Leaves 10-80 cm long by 4-6 cm wide. Flowers dished, up to 50 mm wide. Fruit yellow or orange, 23-30mm long. POISONOUS.
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Detailed description
Erect to spreading, glabrous, soft-wooded shrub up to 4 x 3 m. Stems initially somewhat fleshy, purple-green, dark green to dark purple coloured, maturing with fine, firm, grey chartaceous bark, rather brittle. Leaves in stout petioles up to 50 mm long; lamina 100-800 x 40-60 mm, sometimes even larger, very dark green to purple-green, entire or pinnatisect, (then with 1-4(-6) pairs of lobes almost cut to midrib) on the same plant; lobes up to 50 x 20 mm, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, or more or less elliptic; base decurrent on petiole; apex obtuse to acuminate. Flowers in 2-10-many-flowered cymes, peduncles up to 20 mm long at anthesis, decurved, slender but robust; pedicels pendent at fruiting. Calyx 5-8 mm long, accrescent; lobes broadly ovate-triangular, mucronate, much < tube. Corolla 50 mm diameter, rotate, violet or white, lobes very broad, margins frilled or ruffled, apices emarginate. Anthers 3-4 mm long. Berry 23-30 mm long, yellow or orange when ripe, fleshy, ovoid, ellipsoid, pendent, stone cells obvious and frequent similar in shape to seeds. Seeds 2.2-2.5 mm diameter, obovoid though somewhat asymmetric.
Similar taxa
Often confused with the now much less common S. aviculare G.Forst., which, in its typical state, has narrower leaves which are less frequently pinnatifid, usually much narrower. Flowers 10-40 mm diameter with campanulate-rotate flowers with narrower acute tipped lobes, not distinctly frilled (ruffled), smaller seeds (1-2 mm cf 2-3 mm) and a different chromosome number (2n = 46 cf 2n = 92). S. lacinatum differs from S. aviculare f. latifolium (G.T.S.Baylis) G.T.S.Baylis by its broader, wider lobes with frilled/ruffled margins and an emarginate apex, and by the chromosome number (2n = 92 cf 2n = 46).
Distribution
Indigenous. North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands. Widespread from the Hauraki Gulf Islands and Auckland south. In the northern part of its range actively spreading northwards caused it would seem through establishment through bird dispersal of fruit from garden plantings. Also present in south eastern Australia and Tasmania. Naturalised in parts of China and Russia.
Habitat
Coastal to montane (0-400 m a.s.l.). usually in disturbed successional habitats, in shrublands, gullies, alongside riversides, on forested margins and in reverting pasture. Often appears following fires. A common urban weed in many parts of the country.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Synonyms
Solanum laciniatum f. novozelandicum Herasim.
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
Throughout the year
Fruiting
Throughout the year
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and semi-hardwood cuttings. Tolerant of heavy shade and full sun, and dry or wet soils and cold tolerant. Extremely fast-growing and can become invasive. It should also be noted that, as with all poroporo, the green fruits are extremely toxic.
Other information
Cultivation
Because the fruits of this species and S. aviculare G.Forst. var. aviculare yield important steroid precursors, both are widely and commericially grown, especially in eastern Europe, Russia and China.
Poisonous plant
As with Solanum aviculare var. aviculare, the yellow or green berries are poisonous but when ripe (orange) they lose much of their toxicity. The symptoms are often delayed up to 6-12 hours and may include a fever, sweating, nausea and abdominal pain. Click on this link for more information about Poisonous native plants.
Etymology
solanum: Derivation uncertain - possibly from the Latin word sol, meaning “sun,” referring to its status as a plant of the sun. Another possibility is that the root was solare, meaning “to soothe,” or solamen, meaning “a comfort,” which would refer to the soothing effects of the plant upon ingestion.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
SOLLAC
Chromosome number
2n = 92
Previous conservation statuses
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Regional conservation statuses
Auckland: 2025 | Regionally Not Threatened | Qualifiers: DPS, DPT
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Auckland conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation status of vascular plant species in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland” Simpkins E et al. (2025) report.
Otago: 2025 | Regionally Not Threatened
The regional threat classification system leverages off the national assessments in the NZTCS, providing information relevant for the regional context. Otago conservation status information is sourced from the “Conservation Status of Indigenous Vascular Plants in Otago, 2025” Jarvie S et al. (2025) report.
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Government Printer, Wellington.
Webb CJ, Sykes WR, Garnock-Jones PJ 1988. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for the NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 12 May 2006. Description by P.J. de Lange with some elements based on Allan (1961) and Webb et al. (1988).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Solanum laciniatum Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/solanum-laciniatum/ (Date website was queried)