Back to main Search Page

Solanum laciniatum - Aiton.

Kangaroo Apple

Author	Aiton.	Botanical references	11, 200
Family	Solanaceae	Genus	Solanum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	All green parts of the plant, and the unripe fruits, are poisonous[154, 173].
Range	Australia.
Habitat	Open scrub and forest margins at low altitudes near the coast[260].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Shrub growing to 3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Hedge; East Wall By; South Wall By; West Wall By;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[105, 173]. It must be thoroughly ripe because the unripe fruit is poisonous[2, 46, 153, 154]. It can be used as a sweet fruit or as a vegetable[61]. Best harvested once it has fallen from the plant, the fruit will then have lost its unpleasant acidity[183]. It tastes much worse than it looks, the fruit is sickly sweet and often bitter[193]. The quality varies from plant to plant and even from year to year from the same plant[193]. The fruit is up to 2cm long and contains a large number of flat seeds[193].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Miscellany.

A source of steroids, much used in the pharmaceutical industry. The unripe berries are the richest source[153, 173].

Other Uses

Hedge.

In warmer climates than Britain this plant is often used as a hedge[157].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most fertile soils in a sunny position[182]. Tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[157] but is not very hardy in Britain. It sometimes succeeds as a shrub outdoors in the mildest areas of the country[166] but is more usually cut to the ground by winter cold. It can, however, be grown at the foot of a warm sunny wall and be treated as a herbaceous perennial. As long as the roots are given a good mulch in autumn they should survive quite cold winters[1, 166]. Alternatively, it is possible to grow the plant as an annual. If the seed is sown in early spring in a warm greenhouse and planted out after the last frosts it can fruit in its first year though yields will be lower than from plants grown as perennials[K]. There is much confusion between this species and S. aviculare. Some botanists unite the two under S. aviculare whilst others say that S. laciniatum is a tetraploid form of that species[50]. S. laciniatum is treated as a distinct species here[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing the plants as annuals, plant them out after the last expected frosts and give them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing well. If growing as a perennial, especially in areas at the limits of its cold-hardiness, it will probably be better to grow the plants on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Give them fairly large pots (12cm or larger) because they have very strong root growth. Top growth might die back over winter, but the roots should survive if temperatures in the greenhouse do not fall below about -5°c. Plant them out in early summer of the following year. The plants will be somewhat hardier in their second winter. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks. Pot them up in fairly large pots and overwinter them in the greenhouse before planting out in early summer.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[153] Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria. 0
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[173] Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302
A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[193] Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Solanum laciniatum

David McCutcheon Mon Mar 13 2006

Tasted a very ripe fruit from this plant, once is enough. I can't adequately describe how grossly bitter, sour and HOT the sensation of that taste was. It lingered for ages, I mean to say it persisted, really persisted, in my mouth and on through the digestive tract - expelling other digested nutrients afterward it totally burnt the local orifice chairing that motion. Hey, if I had passed wind just then, a glowing cloud of superhot gas would surely have devastated any fauna and flora in my vicinity. Assuredly I have done planet Earth great service with this incredibly important finding: DO NOT TASTE THIS FRUIT!

Solanum laciniatum

Warren Keen Sun Sep 23 2007

According to wikipedia this plant can be used as a rootstock for Eggplant allowing increased production and longevity compared to a standard Eggplant.

wikipedia

Solanum laciniatum

P. N. Borkotoky Tue May 26 2009

@ Mr. David They can be eaten and are sweet to taste.

Solanum laciniatum

John McKirdy Mon Nov 30 2009

Are we talking about the same plant here? Another website says every part of this plant is poisonous.

Solanum laciniatum

david Tue Dec 1 2009

All parts are poisonous except the ripe, (probably more like over-ripe, with the skin bursting) fruit. I used to eat the fruit a lot until the novelty wore off, it is common wild here in New Zealand. Poisoning causes vomiting, diarrhoea, depression and pain in the abdomin (Source: A Feild Guide to native edible plants of New Zealand by Crowe). There is a note about dangers at the top of each plant page on this site.

Add a comment/link:

Discussion Monitor

To have posts to this page mailed to you enter your email address here:

(Your email address will not appear on the webpage or be passed on to third parties).