Solanum aethiopicum L., Cent. Pl. II 10. 1756.

Aubriot, Xavier & Knapp, Sandra, 2022, A revision of the " spiny solanums " of Tropical Asia (Solanum, the Leptostemonum Clade, Solanaceae), PhytoKeys 198, pp. 1-270 : 1

2. Solanum aethiopicum L., Cent. Pl. II 10. 1756.

Fig. 5D, E

Type.

Ethiopia. Sin. loc., J. Burser vol. 9 no. 17 (lectotype, designated by Hepper and Jaeger 1985, pg. 391: UPS) .

Description.

Vorontsova and Knapp (2016: 49-56); http://www.solanaceaesource.org/solanaceae/solanum-aethiopicum-0.

Distribution.

We have recorded S. aethiopicum from China and India, it is recorded from Sri Lanka (as S. integrifolium Poir.) by Hepper (1987); it is a plant from tropical sub-Saharan Africa (native) but is not known in the wild; widely cultivated in South America, Europe, and Asia.

Common names.

China. hong qie ( Zhang et al. 1994).

Discussion.

Solanum aethiopicum is the scarlet eggplant or gilo. It is sporadically cultivated for its fruits (and possibly leaves) in southwestern China and adjacent India for its edible fruits. Cultivars from tropical Asia are usually glabrescent, with large, ribbed and sometimes flattened berries. It can be easily distinguished from the cultivated brinjal eggplant S. melongena by its smaller white flowers and red or reddish orange mature berries. It could possibly be confused with the widespread S. violaceum (that is somewhat similar to S. anguivi Lam., the wild progenitor of S. aethiopicum , see Vorontsova and Knapp 2016), but is more glabrescent than that species, the berries are much larger, and the fruiting pedicels are not as strongly spreading.

Specimens examined.

See Suppl. materials 1-3.

Figures

Figure 5. Introduced species of Solanum. Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq. A habit (Bidault et al. 3627, Gabon) B detail view of a flower (Bidault et al. 3627, Gabon) C detail view of a fruit (Bidault et al. 3627, Gabon). Solanum aethiopicum L. D detail view of a flower (field photograph, unvouchered, in cultivation at Radboud University, Nijmegen) E detail view of fruits (field photograph, unvouchered, in cultivation at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne). Solanum capsicoides All. F detail view of a flower (Coronado Gonzalez 5457, Nicaragua) G detail view of a fruit (Coronado Gonzalez 5457, Nicaragua). Solanum chrysotrichum Schltdl. H detail of a fertile branch (field photograph, unvouchered, India). Photograph credits: A-C E. Bidault D, E, H S. Knapp F, G I. Coronado Gonzalez.