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Solanum capsicoides
Solanaceae FAMILY

Solanum capsicoides

Solanum capsicoides

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The fruits are poisonous[1]. Suspected of being poisonous to stock but the evidence is not conclusive[2]. 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[3]. Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[PFAF].

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual/Perennial
Growth—

A lowland species of humid or seasonally humid warm subtropical or tropical areas nearly or quite free from frost at elevations up to 1,500 metres[4]. Probably preferring sandy habitats but also recorded from wet alluvial clay and limestone derived soils[4]. The plant is widely grown for its ornamental fruit, and is now naturalized in many areas of the tropics[5]. Plants can flower all year round[4].

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. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Solanum+capsicoides>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎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.
  2. [2]Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants — http://www.anbg.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/rfk/index.html ↩︎An online resource giving botanical information, and a little bit about plant usage, for over 2,700 species of plants found in the Australian rainforest.
  3. [3]Poisonous Plants of North Carolina — http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm ↩︎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.
  4. [4]Solanaceae Source — http://solanaceaesource.org/ ↩︎Incredible detail on all the species in Solanum (now also including the Tomatoes which were formerly in Lycopersicon). The site will eventually include all other Genera within the Solanaceae.
  5. [5]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  6. [6]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎