Practical
Plants

Solanum retroflexum

Sunberry

an annual member of the Solanum genus in the family Solanaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Solanum
Life cycle
annual
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Although no specific mention of toxicity has been seen for this species, it belongs to a genus where many if not all the members have poisonous leaves and sometimes also the unripe fruits.

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Fruit - raw or cooked. Not very appetizing raw, the flavour is improved by cooking[2]. We found the fruit to be much nicer than the rather similar S. nigrum guineense. Although smaller, it has a sweeter flavour[K]. Still not one of the most appetizing fruits to eat, though[K]. The fruit is about 1cm in diameter and is produced in small bunches[200, K].

Plant part
Fruit

Environment

Range
A hybrid of garden origin, possibly S. guineense x S. villosum
Habitat
Not known
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils[1]. Prefers a fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[3]. Often confused with the garden huckleberry, S. guineense, this species has smaller deep blue fruits[2]. Occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit, there are some named forms[3].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2

  3. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

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