Solanum caripense
Solanum caripense
Safety & Hazards
Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most species in this genus also contain toxic alkaloids. Whilst these alkaloids can make the plant useful in treaing a range of medical conditions, they can also cause problems such as nausea, vomiting, salivation, drowsiness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness and respiratory depression[ 293 Title Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Publication Author Website http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes. ]. Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[ K Title Plants for a Future Author Ken Fern Description Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips. ].
Botanical Description
Solanum caripense is a climbing or sprawling plant up to 2 metres or more tall[ 434 Title Flora of Peru Publication Author Macbride. J.F. Publisher Field Museum of Natural History Year 1936 ISBN Description An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. It is occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ]. The plant is used in breeding programmes to improve the pepino (Solanum muricatum).