''Solanum atropurpureum'', commonly known as malevolence, purple devil and the five-minute plant, is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

native to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. ''S. atropurpureum'' contains various toxic

tropane alkaloids Tropane alkaloids are a class of bicyclic .2.1alkaloids and secondary metabolites that contain a tropane ring in their chemical structure. Tropane alkaloids occur naturally in many members of the plant family Solanaceae. Certain tropane alkaloi ...

in its fruit, stems, and leaves, and should not be ingested. The plant is a small shrub growing 1.2 to 1.8 meters in height and 90 to 120 cm in width with ovate, spade shaped leaves 5 to 10 cm long when fully grown. It blooms yellow to white flowers in the late spring to mid summer, and produces small (1–2 cm wide) orange fruit. The fruit's juices can be irritating to the touch, so it is recommended that gloves be used when removing or handling. The plant is characterized by its purple stems, which are completely covered by striking purple and green thorns about 2 cm long, from which its common names are ostensibly derived. The plant is short lived with a 3 to 5-year lifespan. The plant can be grown ornamentally, requiring full sun and modest water. The plant is known to grow in a wide variety of soils and can resist temperatures as low as for a few days. Seeds can be harvested from the fruits, and stem cuttings can be used to grow the plant in about 10 to 20 days. It is also known as a natural reservoir of the

potato virus X Potato virus X (PVX) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family ''Alphaflexiviridae'' and the order ''Tymovirales''. PVX is found mainly in potatoes and is only transmitted mechanically. There are no insect or fungal vectors for this virus. This v ...

Gallery

Image:00503 - Solanum atropurpureum.JPG Image:00501 - Solanum atropurpureum.JPG

References

External links

Kew Plant List

IPNI Listing

Plant Lust
atropurpureum Flora of Brazil {{Solanales-stub