''Solanum incanum'' is a species of

nightshade 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 orna ...

, a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the family Solanaceae. It is native to Sub-Saharan Africa and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, eastwards to India. The species was introduced to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. Common names include thorn apple, bitter apple, bitterball and bitter tomato It may be confused with the similar '' S. linnaeanum'' where their ranges overlap in Africa. In ancient India, ''Solanum incanum'' was domesticated into 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 ...

, ''Solanum melongena''.Tsao and Lo in "Vegetables: Types and Biology". ''Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering'' by Yiu H. Hui (2006). CRC Press. .Doijode, S. D. (2001). ''Seed storage of horticultural crops'' (pp 157). Haworth Press: In biblical literature, it is sometimes used as a "hedge of thorns" ().Proverbs 15:19
/ref>

Gallery

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References

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incanum Desert fruits Flora of Western Asia Flora of Chad Flora of Egypt Flora of Ethiopia Flora of Iran Flora of Mali Flora of Somalia Flora of Syria Flora of Sudan Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Solanales-stub