''Solanum aviculare'', commonly known as kangaroo apple or New Zealand nightshade, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Solanaceae Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...

and native to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.

Description

''Solanum aviculare'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to tall. The leaves are lance-shaped to elliptic, long and wide, or sometimes lobed, broadly elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long with lobes long and long. Both sides of the leaves are the same shaped of green, with a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in groups of up to ten on a peduncle up to long, each flower on a pedicel long. The calyx is with triangular lobes long and the petals blue-violet and fused, forming a star-like pattern in diameter. Flowering mostly occurs in spring and summer, and the fruit is an orange-red to scarlet, oval to elliptic

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

in diameter.

Taxonomy and naming

''Solanum aviculare'' was first described in 1786 by German naturalist

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

in his ''De Plantis Esculentis Insularum Oceani Australis Commentatio Botanica'', from a collection in New Zealand. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''aviculare'') means 'pertaining to small birds', referring to Forster's observation that birds eat the fruit "most gratefully". The Māori names pōroporo and pōporo come from a generic Proto-Polynesian term for any ''Solanum'' species and similar berry-bearing plants. Other names used for ''Solanum aviculare'' in the language include hōreto and peoi. Pōroporo is also a name used to refer to '' Solanum laciniatum'' in Māori.

Distribution and habitat

''Solanum aviculare'' is native to Australia, New Zealand and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. In Australia it occurs in eastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(including

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

) and Victoria, where it grows in rainforest, wet forest and rainforest margins on clay soils. Associated Australian species include the rainforest plants Golden sassafras ('' Doryphora sassafras''), black wattle (''

Acacia melanoxylon ''Acacia melanoxylon'', commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an ''Acacia'' species native to south-eastern Australia. The species is also known as blackwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The tree belon ...

''), and lillypilly (''

Acmena smithii ''Syzygium smithii'' (formerly ''Acmena smithii'') is a summer-flowering, winter-fruiting evergreen tree, native to Australia and belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It shares the common name "lilly pilly" with several other plants. It is p ...

''), and wet forest species brown barrel ('' Eucalyptus fastigata'') and turpentine (''

Syncarpia glomulifera ''Syncarpia glomulifera'', commonly known as the turpentine tree, or yanderra, is a tree of the family Myrtaceae native to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia, which can reach in height. It generally grows on heavier soils. The cream fl ...

''). The species occurs on both

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

s and

Chatham Island Chatham Island ( ) ( Moriori: , 'Misty Sun'; ) is the largest island of the Chatham Islands group, in the south Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is said to be "halfway between the equator and the pole, a ...

of New Zealand where it usually grows in open shrubland up to above sea level.

Naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

population are found in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, but the species in possible extinct on

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

Ecology

Bees are thought to pollinate the flowers.

Uses

The fruit when unripe was traditionally boiled by Indigenous communities in Australia to allow for its use as an oral contraceptive for women. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

and unripe fruits of ''S. aviculare'' contain the

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

solasodine Solasodine is a poisonous alkaloid chemical compound that occurs in plants of the family Solanaceae such as potatoes and tomatoes. Solasonine and solamargine are glycoalkaloid derivatives of solasodine. Solasodine is teratogenic to hamster fe ...

. ''S. aviculare'' is cultivated in Russia and Hungary for the solasidine which is extracted and used as a base material for the production of

steroid A steroid is an organic compound with four fused compound, fused rings (designated A, B, C, and D) arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes t ...

contraceptives Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

. Indigenous communities in Australia also used the fruit as a poultice on swollen joints. The plant contains a steroid which is important to the production of cortisone. The plant is also used as a rootstock for grafting

eggplant Eggplant (American English, US, Canadian English, CA, Australian English, AU, Philippine English, PH), aubergine (British English, UK, Hiberno English, IE, New Zealand English, NZ), brinjal (Indian English, IN, Singapore English, SG, Malays ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1295038 aviculare Solanales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of New Zealand Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1786 Taxa named by Georg Forster Bush medicine