Solanum circinatum

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit has been embraced by Eastern cultures. It is primarily used as decorative foliage for religious and festival floral arrangements in Asia. The fruit is imported for the creation of Chinese New Year trees, due to their golden colored fruit and the belief that the five "fingers" on the fruit represent longevity for the family. In Chinese culture, the plant is known as five-fingered eggplant (五指茄) and in Japan it is known as horned eggplant (ツノナス), fox eggplant (キツネナス), or foxface (フォックスフェイス). The juice of the fruit can be used as a detergent in place of a washing powder, making it similar to the soap nut. The Kofan People of Colombia and Ecuador use the plant as an insect repellent, primarily against cockroaches. The fruit works as a repellent because of the toxicity of steroidal glycoalkaloid. Although the mature fruit is poisonous, it can be cooked and eaten like a vegetable when it is unripe. It provides a good source of calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin B. One way that the fruit can be prepared is boiling the whole fruit and drinking the juices once boiled. In the Philippines, not only is the fruit eaten, but the leaves are also prepared as a tea considered to be anodyne, a mild narcotic.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. In Colombia it has been recorded at 1,800 m above sea level.

Amazon, Andes, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guianas, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, North America, Panama, Peru, South America, Suriname, Venezuela,

How to Identify

A cultivated tropical shrub that produces golden yellow fruit, recorded at altitudes up to 1,800 m above sea level in Colombia.

How to Grow

A plant of higher elevations in the moist tropics. Plants fruit best with cool temperatures in the growing season. Succeeds in a sunny position in any well-drained soil. Prefers a light fertile soil. Dislikes drought. Plants are very prone to wind damage. Plants are probably insensitive to day-length. A very fast growing plant, it starts to fruit within two years from seed and reaches peak production in 3 - 4 years. Trees are, however, short-lived and start to degenerate after about 8 years. Individual trees have a long period of continual flowering, often for periods of 12 months or more. Plants usually ripe their fruit over a period of time, though pruning methods can be used to produce a peak time of fruiting. This species could be a valuable source of gene material for qualities such as nematode resistance, root rot resistance, fragrance, flavour, colour and yield. Plants have a shallow spreading root system and resent surface hoeing, they are best given a good mulch. The leaves have a pungent smell. Plants are subject to attacks by red spider mites.

Propagation: Seed - usually germinates within 4 weeks at 15°c, within 2 weeks at 25°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until large enough to plant out. Cuttings of greenwood.

Medicinal Uses

A decoction of the stems and leaves is used in the treatment of fevers. The macerated leaves are useful for treating insect bites, cuts, wounds and inflammations. The genus Cyphomandra contains the coumarin scopoletine.

Other Uses

The juice of the berry is used to paint designs on pottery. It is applied after firing and then exposed to smoke and gives a black colour. Many designs combine geometric patterns of black and white (from a slip of light clay) and represent the visual effects produced by Banisteriopsis.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

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