''Solanum torvum'', the turkey berry, devil's fig, pea eggplant, platebrush or susumber,
is a bushy, erect and spiny
perennial plant
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 ...
used horticulturally as a
rootstock
A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...
for
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 ...
. Grafted plants are very vigorous and tolerate diseases affecting the root system, thus allowing the crop to continue for a second year.
General description
The plant is usually 2 or 3 m in height and 2 cm in basal diameter, but may reach 5m in height and 8 cm in basal diameter. The shrub usually has a single stem at ground level, but it may branch on the lower stem. The stem bark is gray and nearly smooth with raised
lenticels. The inner bark has a green layer over an ivory color (Little and others 1974). The plants examined by the author, growing on firm soil, had weak taproots and well-developed laterals. The roots are white. Foliage is confined to the growing twigs.
The twigs are gray-green and covered with star-shaped hairs. The spines are short and slightly curved and vary from thick throughout the plant, including the leaf midrib, to entirely absent. The leaves are opposite or one per node, broadly ovate with the border entire or deeply lobed. The petioles are 1 to 6 cm long and the blades are 7 to 23 by 5 to 18 cm and covered with short hairs. The flowers are white, tubular with 5 pointed lobes, and grouped in corymbiform cymes. They are shed soon after opening.
The fruits are berries that grow in clusters of tiny green spheres (ca. 1 cm in diameter) that look like green peas. They become yellow when fully ripe. They are thin-fleshed and contain numerous flat, round, brown seeds (Howard 1989, Liogier 1995, Little and others 1974).
Range
Turkey berry apparently is native from Florida and southern Alabama through the West Indies and from Mexico through Central America and South America through Brazil (Little and others 1974). Because of its rapid spread as a weed in disturbed lands, it is difficult to tell which populations are native and which are introduced. Turkey berry has been introduced and naturalized
throughout tropical Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands including Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa (Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk 2001).
In Jamaica this berry is called susumba, or gully beans, and is usually cooked in a dish along with saltfish and
ackee
The ackee, also known as ankye, achee, akee, ackee apple or ayee (''Blighia sapida'') is a fruit of the Sapindaceae ( soapberry) family, as are the lychee and the longan. It is native to tropical West Africa. The scientific name honours Captain ...
. It is believed to be full of
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
(it does have a strong iron like taste when eaten) and is consumed when one is low in iron.
Ecology
In Puerto Rico, turkey berry grows in upland sites that receive from about 1000 to 4000 mm of annual precipitation. It also grows in riparian zones in drier areas. Turkey berry grows on all types of moist, fertile soil at elevations from near sea level to almost 1,000 m in Puerto Rico (Little and others 1974) and 2,000 m in Papua New Guinea (Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk 2001). Given an equal start after disturbance, turkey berry quickly overtops most herbs, grasses, and other shrubs. It grows best in full sunlight and does well in light shade or shade for part of the day, but cannot survive under a closed forest canopy. Turkey berry single plants, groups, and thickets are most frequently seen on roadsides, vacant lots, brushy pastures, recently abandoned
farmland, landslides, and river banks.
It is considered invasive in
New Caledonia
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, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
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, where it was likely introduced in 1900.
Reproduction
Flowering and fruiting is continuous after the shrubs reach about 1 to 1.5 m in height. Ripe fruits collected in Puerto Rico averaged 1.308 + 0.052 g. Air dry seeds from these fruits weighed an average of 0.00935 g or 1,070,000 seeds/kg. These seeds were sown on commercial potting mix and 60 percent germinated between 13 and 106 days following sowing. The seedlings are common in recently disturbed ground. Frugivorous birds eat the fruits and spread the seeds (Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk 2001). Turkey berry can be propagated vegetatively by placing branch cuttings, with or without leaves, in a mist chamber for one month (Badola and others 1993).
Growth and management
Turkey berry grows about 0.75 to 1.5 m in height per year. The species is not long-lived; most plants live about 2 years. Physical control of the shrub may be done by grubbing out the plants; lopping will not kill them.
They can be killed by translocated herbicides applied to the leaves or the cut stumps (Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk 2001).
Cuisine
![Pla duk phat phet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Pla_duk_phat_phet.jpg)
The green fresh fruits are edible and used in
Thai cuisine
Thai cuisine ( th, อาหารไทย, , ) is the national cuisine of Thailand.
Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong Odor, aromatic components and a spicy edge. Australian chef David Thompson (chef), David ...
, as an ingredient in certain
Thai curries
Thai curry ( th, แกง, translit=kaeng, ) is a dish in Thai cuisine made from curry paste, coconut milk or water, meat, seafood, vegetables or fruit, and herbs. Curries in Thailand mainly differ from the curries in India in their use of ing ...
or raw in certain Thai chili pastes (''
nam phrik
''Nam phrik'' ( th, น้ำพริก, ) is a type of Thai spicy chili sauce typical of Thai cuisine. Usual ingredients for ''nam phrik'' type sauces are fresh or dry chilies, garlic, shallots, lime juice and often some kind of fish ...
''). They are also used in Lao cuisine (Royal Horticultural Society 2001) and
Jamaican cuisine
Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian cuisine, Amerindian, Cuisine of Africa, African, Irish cuisine, Irish, English cuisine, English, French cuisine, French, Portuguese cuisine, Por ...
. The fruits are incorporated into soups and sauces in the
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
(Herzog and Gautier-Béguin 2001).
In
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, India, the fruit is consumed directly, or as cooked food. In
siddha medicine
Siddha medicine is a form of traditional medicine originating in southern India. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India.
In rural India, have learned methods traditionally through master-disciple relationships to become loca ...
, one of the traditional medicine systems of India, an extract of this berry is used to improve digestion.
Haitian mythology
This fruit is reportedly used in
Haitian voodoo
Haitian Vodou is an African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West and Central Africa and Roman Catholicism. There is ...
rituals.
Chemistry
Turkey berry contains a number of potentially pharmacologically active chemicals including the sapogenin steroid
chlorogenin.
Aqueous extracts of turkey berry are lethal to mice by depressing the number of erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets in their blood (Tapia and others 1996).
Extracts of the plant are reported to be useful in the treatment of
hyperactivity
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
, colds and cough, pimples, skin diseases, and
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
.
Methyl caffeate, extracted from the fruit of ''S. torvum'', shows an
antidiabetic
Drugs used in diabetes treat diabetes mellitus by altering the glucose level in the blood. With the exceptions of insulin, most GLP receptor agonists (liraglutide, exenatide, and others), and pramlintide, all are administered orally and are thus ...
effect in
streptozotocin
Streptozotocin or streptozocin ( INN, USP) (STZ) is a naturally occurring alkylating antineoplastic agent that is particularly toxic to the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in mammals. It is used in medicine for treating certain can ...
-induced diabetic rats.
[Antihyperglycemic activity and antidiabetic effect of methylcaffeate isolated from Solanum torvum Swartz. fruit in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Gopalsamy Rajiv Gandhi, Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu, Michael Gabriel Paulraj, Ponnusamy Sasikumar, European Journal of Pharmacology, Volume 670, Issues 2–3, 30 November 2011, Pages 623–631, ]
Cholinergic poisoning has been reported as a result of the consumption of ''Solanum torvum'' berries prepared in Jamaican dishes.
Hybrids
Turkey berry is being crossed with eggplant in an attempt to incorporate genes for resistance to Verticillium wilt into the vegetable (Bletsos and others 2001).
Synonyms and systematics
Several other ''
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
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 ...
have at one time been included in ''S. torvum'' as
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
or
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
:
[Solanaceae Source ]008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to:
* The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh
*"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6
* '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film
* '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...
/ref>
* '' Solanum bahamense'' of Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
(as var.? ''persicifolium'')
* '' Solanum chrysotrichum'' of von Schlechtendal (as var. ''pleiotomum'')
* '' Solanum ferrugineum'' (as var. ''ferrugineum'', var. ''hartwegianum'')
* ''Solanum lanceolatum
''Solanum lanceolatum'', with the common names orangeberry nightshade and lanceleaf nightshade, is a species of Solanum, nightshade. It is native to regions of South America, including the Cerrado ecoregion of the Tropical and subtropical grassla ...
'' of Cavanilles (as var. ''schiedeanum'')
* '' Solanum macaonense'' (as var. ''lasiostylum'')
* '' Solanum rudepannum'' (as var. ''fructipendulum'', var. ''ochraceo-ferrugineum'')
* '' Solanum scuticum'' (as ssp./var. ''brasiliense'', var. ''daturifolium'', var. ''genuinum'')
Also, a number of more or less ambiguous and now-invalid names have been used for ''S. torvum'':
* ''Solanum acanthifolium'' Hort. Par. ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' Mill.: preoccupied)
:''Solanum acanthifolium'' of Philip Miller
Philip Miller FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ''The Gardeners Dictio ...
is '' S. campechiense'' as described by Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
.
* ''Solanum campechiense'' Hort. Par. ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' L.: preoccupied
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...
)
* ''Solanum crotonoides'' Michx. ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' Lam.: preoccupied
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...
)
:''Solanum crotonoides'' of Sieber from Presl is '' S. lanceifolium'' as described by von Jacquin.
* ''Solanum ficifolium'' Ortega
* ''Solanum heterophyllum'' Balb. ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' Lam.: preoccupied)
:''Solanum heterophyllum'' of Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolog ...
is '' S. subinerme''
* ''Solanum largiflorum'' C.T.White
* ''Solanum maccai'' Bertero ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' Dunal in Poir.: preoccupied)
:''Solanum maccai'' of Dunal in Poiret Poiret is a French language surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Jean Poiret, French author
* Jean Louis Georges Poiret, former Lieutenant-Governor of Guinea
*Jean Louis Marie Poiret, French clergyman, botanist, and explorer
* Jeanne ...
is '' S. stramoniifolium'' as described by von Jacquin.
* ''Solanum mammosum'' Herb. ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' L.: preoccupied
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...
)
:''Solanum mammosum'' of Pavón Jiménez from Dunal in de Candolle
Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...
is '' S. circinatum''.
* ''Solanum mannii'' C.H.Wright
:''Solanum mannii'' var. ''compactum'' of C.H. Wright is '' S. anomalum''.
* ''Solanum mayanum'' Lundell
* ''Solanum sanctum'' Jan ex Dunal, in DC. (''non'' L.: preoccupied)
:''Solanum sanctum'' of Carl Linnaeus is '' S. incanum'' as described by the same author.
* ''Solanum torvum'' var. ''typicum'' Hochr. (''nom. illeg'')
See also
* Pagit-pagit
References
* 008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to:
* The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh
*"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6
* '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film
* '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...
br>''Solanum torvum''
Retrieved 2008-SEP-25.
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q978609
torvum
Flora of Mexico
Flora of South America
Asian vegetables
Eggplants
Edible Solanaceae
Taxa named by Olof Swartz