Solanum circinatum
Solanum circinatum
Safety & Hazards
The unripe fruit is slightly toxic. 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 circinatum is a fast-growing, but short-lived evergreen, soft-wooded shrub or small tree reaching a height of around 5 metres[ 315 Title Flora of Barro Colorado Island Publication Author Croat. Thomas B. Website http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/bioinformatics/croat/home Publisher Stanford University Press Year 1978 ISBN 0-8047-0950-5 Description A very good flora of an area in Panama. Written some years ago, so some of the names have been changed. The book is out of print, but the whole flora is now available on the web. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild and occasionally cultivated in Central and South America for its edible fruits, which are sold in local markets[ 46 Title Dictionary of Economic Plants. Publication Author Uphof. J. C. Th. Publisher Weinheim Year 1959 ISBN - Description An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader. , 301 Title Cornucopia II Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications, California. Year 1998 ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 Description The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc. ].