Kangaroo Apple
Solanum laciniatum

Family: Solanaceae

What it is like

Solanum laciniatum is an evergreen Shrub growing to 3 m (9ft 10in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from August to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 3

Where it is found

Open scrub and forest margins at low altitudes near the coast.

Australia.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Fruit - raw or cooked. It must be thoroughly ripe because the unripe fruit is poisonous. It can be used as a sweet fruit or as a vegetable. Best harvested once it has fallen from the plant, the fruit will then have lost its unpleasant acidity. It tastes much worse than it looks, the fruit is sickly sweet and often bitter. The quality varies from plant to plant and even from year to year from the same plant. The fruit is up to 2cm long and contains a large number of flat seeds.

Medicine

Rating: 2

A source of steroids, much used in the pharmaceutical industry. The unripe berries are the richest source.

Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.

Other

Rating: 2

In warmer climates than Britain this plant is often used as a hedge.

Hedge: Plants that can be grown as hedges.

Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.

Hedge: Hedge

How it is grown

Succeeds in most fertile soils in a sunny position. Tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens but is not very hardy in Britain. It sometimes succeeds as a shrub outdoors in the mildest areas of the country but is more usually cut to the ground by winter cold. It can, however, be grown at the foot of a warm sunny wall and be treated as a herbaceous perennial. As long as the roots are given a good mulch in autumn they should survive quite cold winters. Alternatively, it is possible to grow the plant as an annual. If the seed is sown in early spring in a warm greenhouse and planted out after the last frosts it can fruit in its first year though yields will be lower than from plants grown as perennials. There is much confusion between this species and S. aviculare. Some botanists unite the two under S. aviculare whilst others say that S. laciniatum is a tetraploid form of that species. S. laciniatum is treated as a distinct species here.

Propagating it: Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing the plants as annuals, plant them out after the last expected frosts and give them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing well. If growing as a perennial, especially in areas at the limits of its cold-hardiness, it will probably be better to grow the plants on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Give them fairly large pots (12cm or larger) because they have very strong root growth. Top growth might die back over winter, but the roots should survive if temperatures in the greenhouse do not fall below about -5°c. Plant them out in early summer of the following year. The plants will be somewhat hardier in their second winter. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks. Pot them up in fairly large pots and overwinter them in the greenhouse before planting out in early summer.

Best place to grow: Hedge; East Wall. By. South Wall. By. West Wall. By.

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 8-11

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

All green parts of the plant, and the unripe fruits, are poisonous.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Solanum aviculare var. laciniatum