Bush tomatoes are the fruit or entire plants of certain

nightshade The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family (biology), family of flowering plants that ranges from Annual plant, annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal ...

(''Solanum'')

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 appropriat ...

native to the more arid parts of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. While they are quite closely related to

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es (''Solanum lycopersicum''), they might be even closer relatives of the

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. Mo ...

(''S. melongena''), which they resemble in many details. There are 94 (mostly perennial) natives and 31 (mostly annual) introduced species in Australia.Moore, Philip ''A Guide to Plants of Inland Australia'' (2005), Reed New Holland, Sydney, Bush tomato plants are small

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

s whose growth is encouraged by fire and disturbance. The fruit of a number of species have been used as food sources by Aboriginal people in the drier areas of

. A number of '' Solanum'' species contain significant levels of

solanine Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family within the genus '' Solanum'', such as the potato (''Solanum tuberosum''), the tomato (''Solanum lycopersicum''), and the eggplant (''Solanum melongena''). It can occ ...

and as such are highly poisonous. It is strongly recommended that people unfamiliar with the plant do not experiment with the different species, as differentiating between them can often be difficult. Some of the edible species are: * '' Solanum aviculare'' kangaroo appleRobinson, Les ''Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney'' (1991), Kangaroo Press, Pymble, NSW. 3rd Edition, * '' Solanum centrale'', also known as desert raisin, bush raisin or bush sultana, or by the native name ''kutjera'' * '' Solanum chippendalei'' bush tomato, named after taxonomic botanist George Chippendale * '' Solanum diversiflorum'' bush tomato, karlumbu, pilirta, wamurla * '' Solanum ellipticum'' potato bush, very similar to '' Solanum quadriloculatum'' which is poisonous. * '' Solanum laciniatum'' kangaroo apple. * '' Solanum orbiculatum'' round-leaved solanum * '' Solanum phlomoides'' wild tomato. In 1859, aboriginal people were observed burning off the outer skin of ''S. aviculare'' as the raw state would blister their mouths.Bunce, Daniel ''Travels with Dr. Leichhardt'',(1859), London ''S. chippendalei'' is consumed by first splitting the fruit, scraping the centre out and eating the outer flesh as the seeds and surrounding placenta are bitter. ''S. diversiflorum'' is roasted before being eaten or dried. Fruit of ''S.orbiculatum'' is edible, but the fruit of the large leafed form may be bitter. Fruit of ''S. phlomoides'' appears to be edible after the removal of seeds and roasting or sundrying. ''Solanum aviculare'' contains solasodine, a steroid used in the manufacture of oral contraceptives. '' Solanum plastisexum,'' a rare species first described in 2019, is distinguished among plants for exhibiting "breeding system fluidity" – that is, it has no stable sexual expression.

References

{{Reflist Solanales of Australia Solanum Bushfood Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Edible fruits Edible Solanaceae Plant common names