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A large growing shrub from Ethiopia. It has become a weed in California and parts of Australia.
I have it growing in the greenhouse and it has yet to be tested by a serious winter. The foliage
was undamaged by the winter of 2013-14 though aphids have been a bit of a problem. Said to grow
up to eight feet tall, I will have to take remedial action before that point. My plant can be traced to a wild collection by Paul Barney of seed from Ethiopia. Weedbusters (New Zealand) say: "Much-branched, perennial shrub or small tree (<5 m tall) with a shallow taproot. White stems are covered with yellow prickles, and young branches have a hairy, white-felted appearance. Thick, broadly ovate leaves are indented, with green upper surfaces with white edges and prominent veins, undersides always white-felted, and prickles on both sides. White to pale mauve flowers with a yellow centre (Nov-Mar) are followed by poisonous, round, tomato-like fruit (<4cm) maturing from mottled green to yellow when ripe, and containing many brown seeds. Thick stands displace native species in natural areas and create large ungrazable areas in farmland. Blocks access for animals and humans and may harbour pests such as rabbits and possums. Fruit is poisonous and dust from plants can cause respiratory irritation." Solanaceae Source have an excellent synopsis of the species. Among other things they say: "Solanum marginatum is named for its immediately recognisable leaves with white margins, white veins, and regular rounded lobes. A color painting of S. marginatum is available in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (Walker 1817). Solanum marginatum is said to have been introduced to Europe as an ornamental from Palestine by 1775 (Walker 1817). It is now found around the world, most likely spread by man (Symon 1981). It can be fairly common in nitrogen-rich soils around the major cities in the Andes, and has also been reported from the Middle East, Canary Islands, and southern Australia (Symon 1981). Solanum marginatum was cultivated in Ecuador in the 1980s as a source of solanasidine for the pharmaceutical industry (Roth 1986)." |
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| 15th September 2012 | ||
