''Jaltomata procumbens'', the creeping false holly, is a plant species native to Arizona, USA, Mexico, Central America,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Ecuador, and Venezuela. It grows as a weed in agricultural fields and other disturbed locations, but in many places the people protect it because of the edible fruits it produces. ''Jaltomata procumbens'' is a spreading, trailing to ascending herb forming many shoots from a single root. Leaves are broadly lanceolate, up to 20 cm long, dark green. Flowers are rotate, pale yellow-green with darker green spots toward the center. Berries are dark purple, spherical, about 1 cm in diameter, with a strong scent resembling that of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.).

Uses

The fruit has a pleasant taste and aroma and is prized as a food source by many peoples. The Tarahumara and Pima Bajo (Mountain Pima) peoples of the Sierra Madre Occidental of northwestern Mexico recognize the species when it grows in their agricultural fields, but protect it and encourage its growth. Many crop historians believe that many other species now recognized as crops began the process of domestication under similar circumstances, as volunteers in fields planted to other species.Mione, Thomas, & Robert C. Bye Jr. 1996. ''Jaltomata chihuahuensis'' (Solanaceae), a new combination and observations on ecology and ethnobotany. Novon 6:78-81.
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311064 procumbens Flora of Mexico Flora of Central America Flora of Colombia Flora of Venezuela Flora of Ecuador Edible plants Berries Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles