Bush tomatoes are the fruit or entire plants of certain nightshade (''Solanum'')

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...

native to the more arid parts of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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. Mos ...

(''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

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s whose growth is encouraged by fire and disturbance. The fruit of a number of species have been used as food sources by Aboriginal people in the drier areas of

. 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 Solanaceae ...

'' 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 occu ...

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 ''Solanum aviculare'', commonly called poroporo or pōporo (New Zealand), bumurra (Dharug), kangaroo apple, pam plum (Australia), or New Zealand nightshade, is a soft-wooded shrub native to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia. The M� ...

'' kangaroo appleRobinson, Les ''Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney'' (1991), Kangaroo Press, Pymble, NSW. 3rd Edition, * ''

Solanum centrale ''Solanum centrale'', the kutjera, or Australian desert raisin, is a plant native to the more arid parts of Australia. Like other "bush tomatoes", it has been used as a food source by Central Australia and Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal grou ...

'', also known as desert raisin, bush raisin or bush sultana, or by the native name ''kutjera'' * '' Solanum chippendalei'' bush tomato, named after taxonomic botanist

George Chippendale George Chippendale (18 April 1921 – 16 February 2010) was an Australian botanist and a strong proponent of growing Australian Native plants. As well as a career in botany, he also taught his love of botany to all who would listen through talks ...

* ''

Solanum diversiflorum ''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 Solanace ...

'' bush tomato, karlumbu, pilirta, wamurla * ''

Solanum ellipticum ''Solanum ellipticum'' is known as potato bush and under the more ambiguous name of "bush tomato". The Arrernte name of ''merne awele-awele'' might refer to this species or to the similar '' S. quadriloculatum''. Native to Australia, the potato ...

'' potato bush, very similar to ''

Solanum quadriloculatum ''Solanum quadriloculatum'' is known under the (ambiguous) common names of "bush tomato" or (in Australia) "wild tomato ''Lycopersicon'' was a genus in the flowering plant family Solanaceae (the nightshades and relatives). It contained abou ...

'' which is poisonous. * ''

Solanum laciniatum ''Solanum laciniatum'' is a soft-wooded shrub native to the east coast of Australia, notably Victoria and Tasmania. It also occurs in Western Australia and New Zealand, where some authorities consider it to be introduced. It is similar to ''S ...

'' kangaroo apple. * ''

Solanum orbiculatum ''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 Solanace ...

'' round-leaved solanum * ''

Solanum phlomoides ''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 Solanace ...

'' 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 Solasodine is a poisonous alkaloid chemical compound that occurs in plants of the family Solanaceae such as potatoes and tomatoes. Solasonine and solamargine are glycoalkaloid derivatives of solasodine. Solasodine is teratogenic to hamster fetus ...

, a steroid used in the manufacture of oral contraceptives. ''

Solanum plastisexum '' Solanum plastisexum'' is a species of bush tomato from the Australian monsoon tropics that exhibits "breeding system fluidity" – that is, it has no stable sexual expression.McDonnell et al. (2019) After its first description in 2019, the de ...

,'' 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