Solanum aethiopicum Seeds | Scarlet Eggplant
LATIN NAME: Solanum aethiopicum
COMMON NAME: Scarlet Eggplant
Plant Profile
Solanum aethiopicum, better known as Scarlet Eggplant, is a fast-growing, annual in the nightshade family. Scarlet eggplant lanterns small, orange-red fruits among lobed, velvety leaves, the whole plant carrying the fine, bright look of the warm kitchen garden. It is a plant of open, sunny, deep, rich, moist, well-drained ground. All of this makes Scarlet Eggplant a satisfying plant to grow and to get to know.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Solanum aethiopicum, a representative of the nightshade family with clear practical value. It is the kind of species that plant scientists reach for when they need reliable material for propagation and selection studies.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Scarlet Eggplant for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Scarlet eggplant is a bright, useful plant of warm kitchen garden and study collection. It is a bright, useful plant of open, sunny, deep, rich, moist, well-drained garden. Eggplant seeds start easily in a light, loamy mix kept warm and moist. It establishes readily and then requires nothing out of the ordinary.
The nightshade genus feeds the world, potato, tomato, eggplant, and arms it too: goji is its tonic member, while many ornamentals carry toxic solanine-type alkaloids, so identification is everything in this genus.
Growing from Seed
Scarlet Eggplant is one of those generous plants that come along well from seed. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Move strong seedlings into individual pots, keep them in good light, and set them out when the weather and their size agree.
Our Take
It is a solid representative of the Solanum group, true to type from seed. Moisture matters most while plants are young; established plants cope with far more.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Scarlet Eggplant often pair it with these related subjects: