Solanum pectinatum
Dunal
Cocona
(c) EyVer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by EyVer
Wikimedia Commons - Dick Culbert from Gibsons, B.C., Canada
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The round fruit can be eaten raw but are best cooked; the fuzz must be rubbed off and possibly peeled. The fruit can also be made into drinks.
Known Hazards
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant. It requires a frost free site. It needs light well-drained soil. In Bolivia it grows up to 300 m altitude. It grows in areas with a rainfall of 2000 mm per year. It does well in humid places. It needs fertile soil.
Andes, Bolivia, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, South America*, Venezuela,
How to Identify
A small thorny shrub. It grows 70 cm high. The spines are 4-5 mm long. The leaves are 11-25 cm long by 8-13 cm wide. The main vein is easy to see and there are spines on the leaves at the end. The leaf stalk is 5-9 cm long. The flowers are in the axils of leaves. The fruit are round. The fruit are 3-4 cm across. They are juicy and aromatic. There are many seeds.
How to Grow
Propagation: Seed - sow in trays in a nursery. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out when 10cm or more tall. Cuttings of half-ripe wood. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks.
Medicinal Uses
The plant is used to treat stings. The fruit prevents the vomiting that is caused by scorpion stings, also effective for other types of bites.
Other Uses
The pulp of the fruit is rubbed into the hair in order to give it a good appearance and prevent hair loss.
Production
Trees produce fruit after 2 years.
Notes
There are about 1400 Solanum species.
Names & Synonyms
Daboka, Huevi de gato, Lulita, Meneira daboka, Naranjilla grande, Naranjuelo, Rande tton'tto, Toronja, Tumo, Ubasi
References (15)
- 1996, California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. Pepino dulce Fruit fact
- A. L. P. P. de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1):250. 1852
- Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 237
- Gori, B., et al, 2022, Understanding the diversity and biogeography of Colombian edible plants. Scientific Reports 12:7835
- Gouldstone, S., 1983, Growing your own Food-bearing Plants in Australia. Macmillan p 104 (As Solanum hirsuitissimum)
- Herklots,
- Heywood, V.H., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A., and Seberg, O., 2007, Flowering Plant Families of the World. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. p 306 (As Solanum hirsutissimum)
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 822
- Lopez-Diago, D. & Garcia, N., 2021, Wild edible fruits of Colombia. Biota ColomBiana 22 (2) p 52
- Morton, Julia F., 1987, Fruits of Warm Climates. Creative Resources Systems, Inc. . p. 428
- Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
- Samuels, J., 2015, Biodiversity of Food Species of the Solanaceae Family: A Preliminary Taxonomic Inventory of Subfamily Solanoideae. Resources 2015, 4. 277-322
- Segura, S., et al, 2018, The edible fruit species in Mexico. Genet Resour Crop Evol (2018) 65:1767–1793
- Torre, de la, L., et al, 2008, Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador. Herbario QCA. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. p 594
- Vasquez, Roberto Ch. & Coimbra, German S., 1996, Frutas Silvestres Comestibles de Santa Cruz. p 231
