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Solanum macrocarpon
Solanaceae FAMILY

Solanum macrocarpon

Solanum macrocarpon

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

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[1]. Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[PFAF].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

A plant of the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,765 metres, though it is generally only cultivated below 600 metres[2]. At higher elevations the plant tends to be more sturdy and growth is slower[3]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 26°c, but can tolerate 10 - 32°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,000mm, but tolerates 500 - 4,000mm[2]. Requires a sunny position[4]. Plants are tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, but grow best in fertile, humus-rich conditions[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.3 - 8.5[2]. Plants are relatively drought tolerant once established[4]. When grown for its leaves, the plant is trimmed when about 20cm tall in order to promote the production of new shoots. This trimming also results in abundant fruit production[3]. Selective harvesting of the leaves can commence 40 - 50 days after the plant germinates, about a week after the first flowers appear. Harvesting continues at two weekly intervals and, depending on the availability of water, continues for up to a year[3]. Leaves can be harvested for several seasons from regrowths, but a new crop each year gives the best yield[3]. The fruit starts to ripen after about 3 - 4 months[4, 2]. An average leaf yield of 2.9 kilos per square metre, with a crop spacing of 50cm × 50cm, has been recorded in Nigeria[3]. The cultivar ‘Newubaar’ has given 1.5 kilos of fruits per plant in 4 months. Regular leaf harvesting decreases the fruit yield[3]. Several named varieties exist in Africa, mainly developed for their edible leaves, but some for their fruits[3].

Propagation

Seed - sow in a seedbed or in containers. Presoaking the seeds in hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours generally improves germination[3]. Plant out into their permanent positions when about 6 - 8cm tall[4]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Solanum+macrocarpon>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  4. [4]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Flora Zambesiaca — http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html ↩︎An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
  7. [7]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  8. [8]Traditional Vegetables in Benin — Achigan-Dako E. Et al · Darwin Initiative; International Foundation for Science · 2009 ↩︎Issued as a PDF on the Internet, it contains basic information on over 250 species of plants used for food in Benin.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎