Scientific Name:
Solanum scabrum
Pronunciation:
so-LAY-num SKAY-brum
Common Name:
garden huckleberry, African nightshade
Family Name:
Solanaceae
Plant Type:
Annual
Key ID Features:
Plants and leaves resemble pepper, ovate, most mature blades 7-10cm long x 5-8cm wide, petioles 1-6cm long; florets white, 1-2cm wide, in axial, umbel-like clusters of 4-12; berries round, about 1cm wide, ripening from green to dark purple-black.
Habit:
Spreading
Form:
Texture:
Medium - coarse
Mature Height:
0.4 - 0.7m
Mature Spread:
1.0 - 1.5m
Growth Rate:
Fast
Origin:
Africa (western tropical countries)
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 10: (-1 to 4 °C)
Exposure:
Part sun/part shade
Soil/Growing Medium:
Landscape Uses:
Attract birds (Caution: poisonous parts)
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple
Arrangement:
Alternate
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Heavily veined, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Fall:
Yellow
Shapes:
Ovate
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Attenuate
Margins:
Dentate, Entire
Inflorescence Type:
Cyme
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White (Sometimes tinged purple with a yellow/green basal star)
Flower Time at Peak:
Jul, Aug, Sep
Fruit Type:
Berry (true)
Fruit Colour:
Black
Fruiting Time:
Oct
Additional Info:
Showy, Edible only when ripe
Bark or Stem Colour:
