''Solanum opacum'' is a species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...
in the family
Solanaceae
The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and o ...
.
[ It is referred to by the common names green berry nightshade, or morelle verte and is a sprawling annual native to eastern Australia. It is part of the black nightshade group of '']Solanum
''Solanum'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanacea ...
'' species.
Description
A sprawling annual herb, minutely hairy, and with no prickles. The leaves are ovate to lanceolate, 3–6 cm long and 1–2 cm wide, usually with shallowly lobed margins. Both leaf surfaces are green and sparsely hairy. The petiole is 1–4 cm long. Inflorescences 2–5-flowered with a white stellate corolla 8–12 mm diameter. The berry is 8–10 mm diam., and green when mature.
Plant chemistry
An unidentified alkaloidal aglycone An aglycone (aglycon or genin) is the compound remaining after the glycosyl group on a glycoside is replaced by a hydrogen atom. For example, the aglycone of a cardiac glycoside would be a steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic c ...
(0.4%) has been detected in the fruits of ''S.opacum'', but none in the leaves or stems.
Food
Uncommonly cultivated as a "rare" fruit. The ripe berries are eaten when yellowish green, and the flavor is described as spicy-sweet.Seed Catalog, Solana Seeds
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References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7555756
opacum
Taxa named by Alexander Braun