Bush tomatoes are the fruit or entire plants of certain

nightshade The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orna ...

(''Solanum'')

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

native to the more arid parts of Australia. While they are quite closely related to

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word , ...

es (''Solanum lycopersicum''), they might be even closer relatives of the

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

(''S. melongena''), which they resemble in many details. There are 94 (mostly perennial) natives and 31 (mostly annual) introduced species in Australia.Moore, Philip ''A Guide to Plants of Inland Australia'' (2005), Reed New Holland, Sydney, Bush tomato plants are small shrubs whose growth is encouraged by fire and disturbance. The fruit of a number of species have been used as food sources by

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

people in the drier areas of Australia. A number of ''

Solanum ''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanacea ...

'' species contain significant levels of

solanine Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family within the genus ''Solanum'', such as the potato (''Solanum tuberosum''), the tomato (''Solanum lycopersicum''), and the eggplant (''Solanum melongena''). It can occ ...

and as such are highly poisonous. It is strongly recommended that people unfamiliar with the plant do not experiment with the different species, as differentiating between them can often be difficult. Some of the edible species are: * '' Solanum aviculare'' kangaroo appleRobinson, Les ''Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney'' (1991), Kangaroo Press, Pymble, NSW. 3rd Edition, * '' Solanum centrale'', also known as desert raisin, bush raisin or bush sultana, or by the native name ''kutjera'' * ''

Solanum chippendalei ''Solanum chippendalei'' (common names - solanum, bush tomato, ngaru, Chippendale's tomato) is a small fruiting shrub in the family Solanaceae, native to northern Australia. It is named after its discoverer, George Chippendale. The fruits, know ...

'' bush tomato, named after taxonomic botanist George Chippendale * '' Solanum diversiflorum'' bush tomato, karlumbu, pilirta, wamurla * '' Solanum ellipticum'' potato bush, very similar to '' Solanum quadriloculatum'' which is poisonous. * '' Solanum laciniatum'' kangaroo apple. * '' Solanum orbiculatum'' round-leaved solanum * '' Solanum phlomoides'' wild tomato. In 1859, aboriginal people were observed burning off the outer skin of ''S. aviculare'' as the raw state would blister their mouths.Bunce, Daniel ''Travels with Dr. Leichhardt'',(1859), London ''S. chippendalei'' is consumed by first splitting the fruit, scraping the centre out and eating the outer flesh as the seeds and surrounding placenta are bitter. ''S. diversiflorum'' is roasted before being eaten or dried. Fruit of ''S.orbiculatum'' is edible, but the fruit of the large leafed form may be bitter. Fruit of ''S. phlomoides'' appears to be edible after the removal of seeds and roasting or sundrying. ''Solanum aviculare'' contains solasodine, a steroid used in the manufacture of oral contraceptives. '' Solanum plastisexum,'' a rare species first described in 2019, is distinguished among plants for exhibiting "breeding system fluidity" – that is, it has no stable sexual expression.

References

{{Reflist Solanales of Australia Solanum Bushfood Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Edible fruits Edible Solanaceae Plant common names