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Solanaceae FAMILY

Solanum trilobatum

Solanum trilobatum

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
3/5

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

HabitClimber
Growth—

The plant is often found as a garden weed within its native range[2]. Plants can flower all year round[3].

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. Cuttings of half-ripe wood. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Solanum+trilobatum>

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]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  3. [3]The Botany of Bihar and Orissa — Haines H.H. · Adlard & Son & West Newman Ltd. London · 1922 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A flora, it gives many plant uses. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  4. [4]Vitamin C content of commonly eaten green leafy vegetables in fresh and under different storage conditions — Umaramani M. & Sivakanesan R. · 2015 · ISBN 2349 - 1183 ↩︎
  5. [5]Ethnomedicinal Perspectives of Botanicals used by Malayali Tribes in Vattal Hills of Dharmapuri (TN), India — Ramya S.; Rajasekaran C.; Sivaperumal R.; Krishnan A.; Jayak · Ethnobotanical Leaflets. · 2008 · http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ebl ↩︎Brief details of 27 plants used medicinally by the Malayali tribes in India.
  6. [6]Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Studies of Leaf Extract of Solanum trilobatum Linn. — Asirvatham Doss & Rangasamydhanabalan · Ethnobotanical Leaflets · 2008 ↩︎A research paper on the antibacterial actions of Solanum trilobatum. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎