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Solanum abutiloides
Solanum abutiloides is a weedy shrub or small tree from the Andes of Bolivia and Argentina, grown mainly for its ornamental clusters of small orange berries. It is rarely cultivated and not bred for flavour.
Solanum abutiloides is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae. It is endemic to Argentina and Bolivia, and thrives as a weedy plant in rocky land, on stream banks, and scrub land between 900–3600 metres (3000–11800 ft) in elevation. It is also known as dwarf tamarillo, due to superficial similarities with Solanum betaceum. Solanum abutiloides is also sometimes known by the archaic name Cyphomandra abutiloides.
Solanum abutiloides quickly matures into a shrub or small tree up to 9 m (30 ft) tall, though usually far smaller. The heart-shaped leaves have a distinctive and pungent smell.
The native range of Solanum abutiloides includes central and southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. It has been found in the Canary Islands, and at a single location in Morocco, possibly as a result of seed deposition by fruit-eating birds migrating transoceanically. It was introduced into Austria and Australia.
The fruits are edible, though Solanum abutiloides is rare in cultivation, and plants have not been bred for quality of flavor. Therefore, the fruit can often have an unpredictable or unpleasant flavor, and Solanum abutiloides is most often cultivated as an ornamental plant, as the clusters of ripe fruit are very decorative.
Solanum acaule · Sodaapple nightshade · Ethiopian nightshade · American black nightshade · Solanum arcanum · New Zealand nightshade · Solanum berthaultii · Tamarillo · Solanum brevicaule · Solanum cajanumense · Bitter Apple · Fuzzyfruit nightshade
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Solanum abutiloides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
