Common Name:

General Information

Solanum coagulans is a perennial herbaceous plant, often becoming woody at the base. The plant often produces several stems, usually with prickles, growing 10 - 70cm tall[].
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild, mainly for local medicinal use.

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

Northeast Africa - Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It is also found in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Habitat

A common weed of cultivated land, grazed ground, roadsides, coastal plans, and savannah; usually on sand, silt or loam, at elevations from sea level to 1,700 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.50 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A common weed within the plants native range[].

Edible Uses

The fruits are used to coagulate milk[, ].

Medicinal

An infusion of the stems is used as a treatment for stomach ache[].

The roots are used to treat cough[]. The boiled roots are taken to avoid a miscarriage[]. The roots are chewed by expectant mothers who experience abnormal pain[].

The seeds are used as a purgative[].
The dry seeds are powdered and applied to wounds as an antiseptic[].

The whole plant, including the fruits, is pulped and applied to wounds and skin tumours as a dressing[].

Other Uses

The fruits are used for tanning[].

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.
Division of the stems..

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