Common Name:

General Information

Solanum anomalum is a shrub growing up to 2 metres tall[]. The stem, branches and midribs of the leaves are usually armed with prickles up to 5 mm long[].
The edible fruits are gathered from the wild and consumed locally. Both the fruits and the leaves are used medicinally. The plant is sometimes cultivated or semi-cultivated for its fruits[, ].

Known Hazards

Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most species in this genus also contain toxic alkaloids. Whilst these alkaloids can make the plant useful in treaing a range of medical conditions, they can also cause problems such as nausea, vomiting, salivation, drowsiness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness and respiratory depression[].
Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[].

Botanical References

Range

West tropical Africa - Sierra Leone to southern Nigeria, Cameroon and DR Congo.

Habitat

Thickets and secondary forest in the drier parts of the forest zone[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	1.50 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. A bitter flavour, they are normally only eaten fresh by older people[]. Known as 'childrens' tomatoes', they are more commonly used as a condiment in soups and sauces[, , ]. They can also be dried and preserved[]. The fruit is sometimes fermented to form 'dawadawa', which is used as a flavouring in foods[]. The fruit is a globose berry 5 - 9mm in diameter, green when young, shiny red when mature[].

Medicinal

The sap from the leaves and fruits is drunk, or taken by enema 1 - 2 times daily, as a treatment for leprosy and gonorrhoea[].

The fruits are used as a laxative and digestive[]. They are also served ground up in soups and sauces as an appetizer for sick persons, sometimes mixed with fruits of Parkia[].
The crushed fruits are applied to maturate inflammations on fingers or toes[]. The fruit juice is applied to sores on the ears to alleviate pain[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in trays in a nursery. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out when 10cm or more tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks.

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Captcha: if i have 3 bananas, and i eat them all, how many bananas did i just eat?