''Solanum lasiocarpum'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

''Solanum ferox'' L., otherwise known as Indian nightshade or hairy-fruited eggplant, is a plant that produces edible fruit. Its flowers are white and its fruits are pale yellow. ''S. lasiocarpum'' is found wild in parts of temperate and tropical Asia: the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

, south

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, much of

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...

Papuasia Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia. It comprises the f ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In other countries it is primarily known as a domesticated plant. Domesticated plants bear larger fruits and lack the prickly skin that is found in the wild plants. The color found in the center of fruit is light green, like that of ''

Solanum quitoense ''Solanum quitoense'', known as naranjilla (, "little orange") in Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Panama and as lulo (, from Quechua) in Colombia, is a tropical perennial plant from northwestern South America. The specific name for this species of night ...

''. It's cultivated in tropical Asia, used in food additives for flavoring, and given to the sick as a

folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

. In India, the locals use the fruit as a sour-relish in curries. In Thailand, a special kind of sauce called nam prek is made with the fruit. ''Solanum lasiocarpum'' is of interest to botanists because of its strong resemblance to, and apparent close relation to South American species, the ''cocona'' (''S. sessiliflorum''), the ''naranjilla'' (''S. quitoense''), and the ''pseudolulo'' (''S. pseudolulo'') in particular. When grown outside of their native range, all four of those plants will readily hybridize, producing sterile offspring. This has some potential to enhance the commercial viability of each of those species elsewhere in the world.''Solanum lasiocarpum''
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References

External links

''Solanum lasiocarpum''
on Solanaceae Source lasiocarpum Edible Solanaceae Flora of the Andaman Islands Flora of China Flora of Indo-China Flora of Malesia Flora of Papuasia Flora of Queensland Flora of Sri Lanka Flora of Taiwan {{Solanales-stub