''Solanum opacum'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Solanaceae 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 orn ...

. It is referred to by the common names green berry nightshade, or morelle verte and is a sprawling annual native to eastern

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 ...

. It is part of the black nightshade group 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.

Description

A sprawling annual herb, minutely hairy, and with no prickles. The leaves are ovate to lanceolate, 3–6 cm long and 1–2 cm wide, usually with shallowly lobed margins. Both leaf surfaces are green and sparsely hairy. The petiole is 1–4 cm long. Inflorescences 2–5-flowered with a white stellate corolla 8–12 mm diameter. The berry is 8–10 mm diam., and green when mature.

Plant chemistry

An unidentified alkaloidal

aglycone An aglycone (aglycon or genin) is the compound remaining after the glycosyl group on a glycoside is replaced by a hydrogen atom. For example, the aglycone of a cardiac glycoside would be a steroid molecule. Detection A way to identify aglycone ...

(0.4%) has been detected in the fruits of ''S.opacum'', but none in the leaves or stems.

Food

Uncommonly cultivated as a "rare" fruit. The ripe berries are eaten when yellowish green, and the flavor is described as spicy-sweet.Seed Catalog, Solana Seeds
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7555756 opacum Taxa named by Alexander Braun