Sunberry, Wonderberry
Solanum retroflexum

Family: Solanaceae

What it is like

A spreading annual herb. It grows 50-100 cm high. The stems are angled and grooved. The leaves simple and alternate and can have lobes or teeth. There are spreading hairs on the stems. The flowers are in small groups and are drooping. They are in the axils of leaves. The flowers are white, star shaped and 16 mm across. The fruit are green but turn black and 8 mm across. There are many seeds.

There are about 1400 Solanum species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in hot arid places with a marked dry season. It grows between 10-2,730 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Arabia, Australia, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, North America, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, USA, West Africa, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The ripe fruit are eaten and used for jam. They taste better cooked. Caution: The fruit are edible when ripe but poisonous when green. The leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Edible parts

Fruit, leaves - flavouring

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seeds. Seeds have a low germination. They need light to germinate. Treated seeds with potassium nitrate (salt peter) germinate better.

Its other names

Local names

Intfumana, Momodi, Msoba, Muxe, Nasgal, Nastergal, Seshoa-bohloko, Sobosobo berry, Umsoba, Umsobo omnyama

Synonyms

Solanum X burbankii Bitter;