| Solanum aethiopicum | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Solanum |
| Species: | S. aethiopicum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Solanum aethiopicum | |
Solanum aethiopicum, the bitter tomato, Ethiopian eggplant,[1] or nakati, is a fruiting plant of the genus Solanum mainly found in Asia and Tropical Africa. It is also known as Ethiopian nightshade,[2] garden eggs, pumpkin-on-a-stick,[3][4] and mock tomato. It is a popular vegetable in north-east India, and is known as khamen akhaba in Manipuri and samṭawk in Mizo. They are called Titay bii or simply bii in Darjeeling, Sikkim and Nepal, and are relished with meat, particularly pork. These names are a result of its varied morphology, with ripe fruit often looking like a cross between an eggplant and a tomato, which are also from Solanum. In fact, the Ethiopian eggplant was so much confused with the ordinary eggplant that this was considered by some a variety violaceum of S. aethiopicum.
Ethiopian eggplant may have originated from the domestication of Solanum anguivi. The scarlet eggplant, also known as Gilo or jiló, was long held to be a distinct species (S. gilo) but is nowadays generally considered to be a cultivar group of S. aethiopicum.
Ethiopian eggplant has been used as a source of disease resistance genes for several commercially grown Solanaceae crops, including Solanum melongena (eggplant).[5] A lack of genomic resources has meant that breeding has lagged behind other vegetables, although a 1.02-Gb draft genome has been sequenced by BGI, with single-nucleotide polymorphisms identified for use by breeders.[6]
- ^ "Solanum aethiopicum - Bitter Tomato". www.flowersofindia.net. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ NRCS. "Solanum aetiopicum". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "Capsicum 'Pumpkin on a Stick'". cutflowers.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Pumpkin-on-a-stick". blogs.cornell.edu. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Prohens, Jaime; Plazas, Mariola; Raigón, María D.; Seguí-Simarro, José M.; Stommel, John R.; Vilanova, Santiago (1 July 2012). "Characterization of interspecific hybrids and first backcross generations from crosses between two cultivated eggplants (Solanum melongena and S. aethiopicum Kumba group) and implications for eggplant breeding". Euphytica. 186 (2): 517–538. doi:10.1007/s10681-012-0652-x. ISSN 1573-5060. S2CID 17159722.
- ^ Song, Bo; Song, Yue; Fu, Yuan; Kizito, Elizabeth Balyejusa; Kamenya, Sandra Ndagire; Kabod, Pamela Nahamya; Liu, Huan; Muthemba, Samuel; Kariba, Robert; Njuguna, Joyce; Maina, Solomon (1 October 2019). "Draft genome sequence of Solanum aethiopicum provides insights into disease resistance, drought tolerance, and the evolution of the genome". GigaScience. 8 (10). doi:10.1093/gigascience/giz115. PMC 6771550. PMID 31574156.