Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Related Species —
Solanum macrocarpon
L.
Family —
Solanaceae (nightshade family) section Oliganthes
Common Names —
African eggplant, garden egg, scarlet eggplant, bitter tomato, mock tomato,
Ethiopian eggplant, African bitter pea-aubergine, wild pea-aubergine, wild African aubergine,
tomato-fruited eggplant, Ethiopian nightshade
African Names —
Igbo (Nigeria): anara, afufa; Yoruba: igbagba, ikan; Ghana: agbitsa; Sudan:
guta, quta; Swahili: ngilo; Uganda: nakati, nakasuga; Burkina Faso: banse, goyo, kumba; Senegal:
djackattou, jaxatu, njakatu; Rwanda: intobo, umucucu; Afrikaans (Namibia): bitterappel, grysbit-
terappel; Afrikaans (South Africa): bitterappel, gifappel, grysbitterappel; Kikuyu (East Africa):
mutongu; Boran (Kenya): idi-gaga; Digo (Kenya): mtunguza-koma; Gabbra (Kenya): h'iddi-loonni;
Chagga: nduo; Ilwana (Kenya): muhidi; Kamba (Kenya): mukondu; Damara/Nama (Namibia):
soropes; Herero (Namibia): omundumburiri, omundumbwiriri, omutimburiri; Himba (Namibia):
omundumbwiriri; Khoekhoegowab (Namibia): soropees; Ki-arusha: indulele; Kibende: ntufululu;
Kifiome: nangali; Kihene: ndula; Kijita: mtobolo; Kikerewe: mtobotobo
Description —
Solanum aethiopicum
is a woody deciduous annual, or occasionally perennial
herb, up to 200 cm tall, often much branched; the root system extends both vertically and laterally;
branches and leaves are with or without prickles and stellate hairs. Leaves are alternate and simple;
stipules are absent; the petiole is up to 11 cm long; the blade is broadly ovate, (6-)12-30 × (4-)7-21
cm, obtuse or cordate at the base, acute to obtuse at the apex, slightly to deeply lobed at the margin,
and pinnately veined; upper leaves are smaller, narrower, less lobed, and often subopposite.
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In
the vegetative stage, a plant of the Gilo group looks like a common eggplant (i.e.,
Solanum melon-
gena
). Features distinguishing it from the other species are the small, white, star-shaped flowers.
In addition, the calyces are never long, and the inflorescence has short (1-cm) rachis. The fruits are
3-6 cm in diameter, varying in shape from ellipsoid to almost round. They contain 2-6 locules and
are normally firmly attached to thick fruit stalks that turn downward. The flowers are pollinated by
large bees.
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The species exist in different forms, which were in the past described as about 20 spe-
cies. Recent studies have shown that all these plants are highly interfertile and better treated as one
species, having arisen by domestication from a single wild progenitor,
Solanum anguivi
. Four main
groups of cultivars of
Solanum aethiopicum
, with different uses, are now recognized: the
Shum
,
Kumba
,
Gilo,
and
Aculeatum
groups. The first three are native to Africa and are used as food and
medicine; the fourth is of European origin and has inedible fruits.
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Habitat and Distribution —
Solanum aethiopicum
occurs in virtually all of sub-Saharan
Africa but is less well known in (or probably absent from) South Africa and Madagascar. It is
believed to be a domesticated cultivar from the wild
Solanum anguivi
Lam., via the semidomesti-
cated
Solanum distichum
Schumach. & Thonn. The two species occur throughout tropical Africa,
Solanum anguivi
in disturbed vegetation and
Solanum distichum
in gardens.
Solanum aethiopicum
is grown throughout tropical Africa and South America (mainly Brazil) and occasionally elsewhere
(e.g., in southernmost France and Italy). It is one of the leading vegetables in tropical Africa. In the
humid zone of West Africa, it is mainly grown for its immature fruit (garden egg), in the savanna
area frequently for both its leaves and immature fruits (often called
djakattou
), and in East Africa,
especially Uganda, mainly as a leaf vegetable (called
nakati
).
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Ethnomedicinal Uses —
The immature fruits of
Solanum aethiopicum
are eaten raw and
sometimes as cooked vegetables in stews. The leaves and shoots are also used as a cooked vegetable.
Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria traditionally welcome visitors into the family house by offering
the fruits either alone or with seeds of
Cola nitida
and
Aframomum melegueta
. Fruits of the bitter
cultivars and roots are used in traditional medicine in many African countries. They have been used
for the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, and stomach complaints and as a carminative and seda-
tive and for colic. The leaf juice has been used as a sedative to treat uterine complaints; an alcoholic
extract of leaves is used as a sedative and antiemetic and to treat tetanus after abortion, and crushed
and macerated fruits are used as an enema.
