''Solanum quitoense'', known as naranjilla (, "little orange") in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and as lulo (, from Quechua) in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, is a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

from northwestern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The specific name for this species of nightshade means "from

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

." The lulo plant has large elongated heart- or oval-shaped leaves up to 45 cm in length. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered in short purple hairs. Naranjilla are delicate plants and must be protected from strong winds and direct sunlight. They grow best in partial shade. The fruit has a citrus flavour, sometimes described as a combination of rhubarb and lime. The juice of the naranjilla is green and is often used as a juice or for a drink called lulada.

Classification

Within the genus ''

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 Solana ...

'', ''S. quitoense'' is a part of the subgenus ''Leptostemonum''. Within this clade, ''S. quitoense'' belongs to the section ''Lasiocarpa''. Other species within ''Lasiocarpa'' include ''S. candidum'', ''S. hyporhodium'', ''S. lasiocarpum'', ''S. felinum'', ''S. psudolulo'', ''S. repandum'' and ''S. vestissimum''. (2005)
''Solanum quitoense''
Version of December 2005. Retrieved 2008-SEP-25. Naranjilla new leaf

''Solanum quitoense'' resembles and can be confused with certain other species of ''Solanum'' (some closely related to ''S. quitoense'' and others less so), including ''S. hirtum'', ''S. myiacanthum'', ''S. pectinatum'', '' S. sessiliflorum'' and ''S. verrogeneum''. Furthermore, ''S. quitoense'' is somewhat variable in appearance, making identification challenging: at least three varietals (with spines, without spines, and a third variety known as ''baquicha,'' which features red-ripening fruits and smooth leaves) are known to occur. One characteristic that is unique to ''S. quitoense'' is the ring of green flesh within the ripe fruit. The only related fruit to have green flesh is a cultivated variant of '' S. lasiocarpum''. The new growth of ''Solanum quitoense'' is densely covered in protective

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s, which vary in color from purple to white. Image:stalk 1.jpg, New leaf Image:stalk 2.jpg, Bud Image:stalk 3.jpg, Bud and young leaf

Agriculture

The naranjilla has been proposed as a new flavoring for the global food industry, but its faring poorly in large-scale cultivation presents an obstacle to its wider use. Its fruit, like tomatoes, is easily damaged when ripe, so is usually harvested unripe. The fruits are found at markets, and locals commonly prepare beverages by adding sugar and water to the freshly squeezed fruits.Óscar Acosta, Ana M. Pérez, Fabrice Vaillant (2009
Chemical characterization, antioxidant properties, and volatile constituents of naranjilla (''Solanum quitoense'' Lam.) cultivated in Costa Rica
. ''Archivos Latinoamericana de Nutrición'' 59(1): 88-94

Pests and diseases

''Solanum quitoense'' has limited potential in large-scale agriculture due to the plant's extreme vulnerability to pests and diseases when grown as a crop. One common type of

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

is caused by the root-knot nematode. The ripe fruit is also very delicate and is frequently attacked by fungus, especially when mechanically damaged, so it is often picked unripe to avoid rotting. ''S. quitoense''-specific vascular wilt is caused by a fungus and leads to flaccid fruits and defoliation. Hybrids are an increasingly popular solution to the nematode pest problem. ''S. quitoense'' has been hybridized with other Solanum species, most commonly with '' S. sessiliflorum'', a plant with similar phenotypic traits. The leaves, flowers and fruits of ''S. sessiliflorum'' are similar in form to ''S. quitoense'', but the fruits of the former are larger and yellow; the resulting hybrids have fruits with yellowish fruit pulp.

Nutrition

Contents of the fruit varies from region to region. These statistics are based on Costa Rican fruit: These statistics are based on fruits found in

and

:Naranjilla
/ref>

References

External links

*

by Morton, Julia F. 1987 {{Taxonbar, from=Q795069 quitoense Tropical fruit Edible Solanaceae Crops originating from the Americas Crops originating from Ecuador Crops originating from Colombia Crops originating from Peru