Solanum macrocarpon L.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
By stream at base of Mt Bunga, northwestern Gorongosa National Park.

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Synonyms:	Solanum acanthoideum E. Mey. Solanum atropo Schumach & Thonn. Solanum dasyphyllum Schumach. & Thonn. Solanum duplosinuatum Klotzsch Solanum thonningianum Jacq. f.
Common names:	African eggplant (English)
Frequency:
Status:	Native
Description:	Shrubby annual or perennial herb, up to 1.5 m high, most parts, including leaves and calyx lobes more or less densely armed with spines, occasionally (in cultivars) unarmed. Leaves alternate, subsessile, ovate to obovate, deeply lobed, stellate hairy when young, later mostly hairless except for the midrib; base decurrent into the subpetiole; usually with long prickles on midrib and secondary veins above and below. Flowers in 2-6-flowered heads. Calyx lobes with prickles, greatly extending in fruit. Corolla 5-6-lobed, white, bluish to purple, 1.6-2.5 cm in diameter. Fruit (depressed) globose, 3-4.5 cm in diameter, glossy, green-white to yellow when young, golden-yellow to orange-yellow when ripe. Usually very bitter but edible when cooked in some cultivars.
Notes:	The species is sometimes cultivated for its edible fruit, particularly in West Africa. Although the density of spines can vary most wild plants are densely spiny while many completely unarmed cultivars also exist.
Derivation of specific name:	macrocarpum: large-fruited.
Habitat:	Edges of forest, floodplains, river banks and cultivated ground.
Altitude range:	Up to 1765 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Widespread throughout Africa, Madagascar and Mascarene Islands. Also introduced in the Antilles, South America, Europe and southern Asia.
Mozambique distribution:	MS/T,MS
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Content last updated:	Sunday 14 June 2015
Literature:	Burrows, J.E., Burrows, S.M., Lötter, M.C. & Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique Publishing Print Matters (Pty), Cape Town. Page 866. (Includes a picture). Gonçalves, A.E. (2005). Solanaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(4) Pages 105 - 107. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 79. Also as Solanum dasyphyllum

Other sources of information about Solanum macrocarpon:

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Flora of Malawi: Solanum macrocarpon
Flora of Zambia: Solanum macrocarpon
Flora of Zimbabwe: Solanum macrocarpon

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Solanum macrocarpon
African Plant Database: Solanum macrocarpon
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Solanum macrocarpon
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Solanum macrocarpon
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Solanum macrocarpon
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Solanum macrocarpon
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Solanum macrocarpon
JSTOR Plant Science: Solanum macrocarpon
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Solanum macrocarpon
Plants of the World Online: Solanum macrocarpon
Tropicos: Solanum macrocarpon
Wikipedia: Solanum macrocarpon