Solanum pubescens

Willd.

Vusti

SolanaceaeFruit

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(c) Ansil B.R., some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ansil B.R.

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The greenish berries are used as a vegetable and have a bitter taste. The unripe fruit are slightly crushed to remove seeds, then dried and used in cooking.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant.

Asia, India, Sri Lanka,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A shrub. The leaves have small sticky hairs. Flowers are purple to violet. The fruit are about 1.2 cm across. They are green but can become orange when ripe.

Medicinal Uses

The foliage is used as green manure for paddy cultivation. Immature fruits are very bitter to taste, it is consumed just like bitter guard. It helps to heal bowel complains and joint pains. Unripe fruits are slightly crushed in order to remove the seeds and then dried. Dried fruits are used in cooking. It is of more economic importance. Several ton dried fruits are coming to the market every year. Local inhabitants able to get some revenue out of it. Solanum torvum is also used for the same purpose, but it is not bitter to taste.

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Solanum pubescens is a wild shrub found in the foot hill areas of southern India. It is very closely related to the Turkey berry (Solanum torvum). This shrub does not have spines; leaves are smaller in size covered with dense sticky hairs. Flowers are larger, purple to violet, the flowering and fruiting is seasonal in S. pubescens. Flowering will occur from August to December. The fruits are around 1.2 cm diameter and is more bitter. Matured fruits change in color to orange. It can be found in peninsular India and Sri Lanka.

Other Information

It is a significant local food.

Names & Synonyms

Kattusundai, Usthi kaai

References (3)

Arinathan, V., et al, 2007, Wild edibles used by Palliyars of the western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge. 6(1) pp 163-168
Ramachandran, V. S., 2007, Wild edible plants of the Anamalais, Coimbatore district, western Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal or Traditional Knowledge. 6(1) pp 173-176
Reddy, K.R., 1989, Additional Notes on the Wild Edible Plants of India. J. Econ. Tax. Bot. Vol. 13 No. 1 pp 125-127