Solanum Scabrum

''Solanum scabrum'', also known as garden huckleberry, is an annual or perennial plant in the nightshade family. The geographic origin of the species is uncertain; Linnaeus attributed it to Africa, but it also occurs in North America, and it is naturalized in many countries. In Africa it is cultivated as a leaf vegetable and for dye from the berries.Manoko,M.L.K.,van den Berg,R.G., Feron,R.M.C.,van der Weerden,G.M., Mariani,C.
Genetic diversity of the African hexaploid species Solanum scabrum Mill. and Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae)
''Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution,'' Volume 55, Number 3, 409-418.

Description

An annual or short-lived perennial herb to 1 m tall, hairless or sparsely hairy. The leaves are usually ovate, 7–12 cm long and 5–8 cm wide, with petioles 1.5–7 cm long. The inflorescence is simple or sometimes branched with 9–12 flowers. The white corolla is stellate, 15–20 mm diam., and sometimes tinged purple and with yellow/green basal star. The berries are globular, 10–17 mm diam., purple-black. The seeds are 1.8–2.2 mm long, pale or stained purple.Factsheet ''Solanum scabrum'', Flora of South Australia
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Food

''Solanum scabrum'' is grown as an edible leaf crop in Africa. It is the most intensively cultivated species for leaf cropping within the ''Solanum nigrum'' complex, and as such has undergone genetic selection by farmers for leaf size and other characteristics. Njama njama is a Cameroonian cuisine dish made with the leaves.

Dye

In Africa a stocky form of ''Solanum scabrum'' is cultivated as a dye crop using the ripe berries.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q24853233

scabrum
Taxa named by Philip Miller