Solanum macranthum

Dunal

Brazilian potato tree

SolanaceaeFruit

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Didier Levasseur, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Ganjar Cahyadi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit

The fruit are eaten.

Where to Find It

A tropical plant.

Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, East Africa, Eswatini, Guyana, India, Malawi, Malaysia, SE Asia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Swaziland,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, Brunei, Bolivia, Brazil, Bhutan, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Chile, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, French Guiana, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Comoros, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mongolia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Syria, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A small tree. It grows 10 m high. The branches and leaves can have sharp, hooked prickles. The leaves are large and 25-30 cm long. They are in clusters at the ends of branches. They are rough on the upper surface and hairy underneath. There are deep irregular lobes around the edges. They are unequal sided at the base. The flowers are shaped like stars and have 5 joined petals. The flowers can be 5 cm across. They are in clusters at the ends of branches. The flowers are pale purple to white. The stamens are yellow. The fruit are large berries. They can be 3 cm across. They are green to yellow when ripe.

Medicinal Uses

The fruit contain solasodine, which is used in medicine.

Production

It is fast growing but short lived.

Other Information

It is cultivated.

Notes

There are about 1400 Solanum species. The fruit contain solasodine. It is used in medicine.

Names & Synonyms

Potato Seed, Potato tree, Terung pokok

References (8)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 580
Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 935
Dharani, N., 2002, Field Guide to common Trees & Shrubs of East Africa. Struik. p 162
Lord, E.E., & Willis, J.H., 1999, Shrubs and Trees for Australian gardens. Lothian. p 262
Milow, P., et al, 2013, Malaysian species of plants with edible fruits or seeds and their evaluation. International Journal of Fruit Science. 14:1, 1-27
Reis, S. V. and Lipp, F. L., 1982, New Plant Sources for Drugs and Foods from the New York Botanical Garden herbarium. Harvard. p 274
Solan. syn. 43. 1816
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora