Solanum ellipticum

:"This article is about the "Solanum ellipticum" described by F. von Mueller. The plant named thus by J.M. de Conceição Vellozo is actually "S. cylindricum.Taxobox
name = Potato Bush


image_width = 240px
image_caption =
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
subclassis = Asteridae
ordo = Solanales
familia = Solanaceae
genus = "Solanum"
species = "S. ellipticum"
binomial = "Solanum ellipticum"
binomial_authority = F.Muell.
synonyms = See text

"Solanum ellipticum" is known as Potato Bush and under the more ambiguous name of "bush tomato". The Arrernte name of "merne awele-awele" might refer to this species, and/or to the similar "S. quadriloculatum". Native to Australia, the Potato Bush is a small fruiting shrub in the Solanaceae family.

It a small fast-growing waxy-looking shrub that grows next to creeks. It fruits prolifically the year after fire or good rains. Its fruit have a pungent smell, and the plant can be smelled from some distance away when the fruit are ripe. Like the other "bush tomatoes", "S. ellipticum" fruit are edible raw or cooked. "S. ellipticum" used to (and in some treatments still does) include "S. quadriloculatum" as variety "duribaccalis", but generally these two species of "bush tomatoes" are considered distinct nowadays. Similarly, the former variety "horridum" is now "S. senticosum", the "S. echinatum" of Robert Brown was sometimes treated as var. "pannifolium", and "S. esuriale" was included in "S. ellipticum" as form "inermis".Solanaceae Source [2008] ]

A few now-invalid names for "S. ellipticum" also exist; mostly they refer to potatobush plants believed to be distinct forms or varieties but today not considered to be taxonomically distinct:
* "Solanum ellipticum" f. "albiflora" Domin ("lapsus")
* "Solanum ellipticum" f. "albiflorum" Domin
* "Solanum ellipticum" var. "chillagoense" Domin
* "Solanum ellipticum" var. "mollibaccalis" J.M.Black
* "Solanum lithophilum" F.Muell.

ee also

* Bushfood

Footnotes

References

* [2008] : [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/solanaceaesource/taxonomy/description-detail.jsp?taxa=2377 "Solanum ellipticum"] . Retrieved 2008-SEP-26.