Solanum sisymbriifolium

Solanum sisymbriifolium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species:
S. sisymbriifolium
Binomial name
Solanum sisymbriifolium
Synonyms

Many, see text

Solanum sisymbriifolium is commonly known as vila-vila,[1] sticky nightshade,[2] red buffalo-bur,[3] the fire-and-ice plant, litchi tomato, or Morelle de Balbis.[4]

The small edible fruits are red[5] on the outside and yellow inside. It grows inside a spiny, green husk. The fruit is ripe when it is easily removed from the stem. The flavor resembles sour cherries and a little bit like a tomato.[4]

This plant has been used as a trap crop to protect potatoes from potato cyst nematode.[6] The stems and leaves contain solasodine which makes the plant very resistant to many pests and diseases, with the exception of potato beetles and tomato hornworms. It can also be used as a hedge plant to keep animals out of a garden, because it is covered with prickles (erroneously called thorns).[4]

  1. ^ "Friends of Vila-vila" – via Facebook.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Solanum sisymbriifolium​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  4. ^ a b c Litchi Tomato article in Mother Earth News, December 2009
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference APHIS-weeds was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Varandas, Raquel; Egas, Conceição; Conceição, Isabel Luci (2020-11-01). "Potato cyst nematodes: New solutions to an old problem". Crop Protection. 137: 105303. doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105303. ISSN 0261-2194.