13166 Solanum mammosum – Cow’s Udder

Description

The perennial, Tropical nightshade plant with its exotic, dark blue flowers and bizarre 3 to 5 cm long, yellow-orange fruits growing on long wooden stalks, belongs to the ornamental aubergines. Similar to the egg tree, its fruits are not edible. The bizarrely looking shrub attains a height of 1,20 to 1,80 metres. The plant itself looks like a tomato plant, except that the stalks and branches are full of small thornes. Maturing some time after flowering, the fruits are of whitish, yellow-green colour first turning into a bright yellow-orange later. Their funny shape is reminiscent of nothing but small udders, hence the name. Grown in a pot or tub, it is a very interesting and unusual ornamental plant.