Solanaceae FAMILY

Solanum americanum

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

The bitterness of the plant is associated with a high content of the glycoalkaloid solanine, which is found throughout the plant with the highest concentration in the unripe fruits[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. In the leaves the concentration increases with age. Solanine is poisonous and only partially soluble in water. Eating a large amount of this vegetable has been associated with diarrhoea and cardiac arrest[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The immature fruit is poisonous[ 173 Title Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Publication Author Crowe. A. Publisher Hodder and Stoughton Year 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302 Description A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet. ].

Botanical Description

Solanum americanum is an annual or short-lived perennial plant, erect and widely spreading, growing up to 150 cm tall[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The plant is used as a vegetable, especially in Africa, where it is often collected from the wild. It is reported as being cultivated in Sierra Leone, the lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles and Mauritius. It is a popular wild pot herb in Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, and in eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique the leaves are also eaten as a vegetable[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangePossibly originally S. America, but it is widespread through the tropics and subtropics.

HabitatRocky or dry open woods, thickets, shores or openings, often on cultivated or waste ground in eastern N. America[ 43 Title Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition Publication Author Fernald. M. L. Publisher American Book Co.; New York Year 1950 ISBN 0442222505 Description A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America. ]. Waste places, roadsides, fields; at elevations from 100 - 2,000 metres in China[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ].