Solanum asperum
L. C. Rich.
Boboro
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(c) Alex Popovkin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Alex Popovkin
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-nd
(c) Alex Popovkin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Alex Popovkin
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-nd
(c) Gabriel Bonfa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Gabriel Bonfa
Description
A shrub. It can grow 6 m tall. The fruit is round and yellow and about 1 cm across.
This description is brief — help expand it
Edible Uses
The round yellow fruits are eaten.
Known 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. Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant.
Where It Grows
Amazon, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, South America, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela,
Cultivation
It can be grown by seed or cuttings.
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.
References (4)
- Ferns, Useful Tropical Plants
- Johnson, M. and Colquhoun, A., 1996, Preliminary Ethnobotanical Survey of Kurupukari: An Amerindian Settlement of Central Guyana. Economic Botany, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 182-194
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 814
- Roa, J. A. G. & Boada, D. S. G., 2018, Fundación para el Fortalecimiento de la Fruticultura y Plantas Alimenticias no Convencionales en Colombia.
