Solanum deflexicarpum seed

LATIN NAME: SOLANUM DEFLEXICARPUM

COMMON NAME: Deflexed-fruit Nightshade

The deflexed-fruit nightshade spreads the soft-wooded, annual to short-lived perennial with the oval, wavy-edged, dark-green leaves and the small, white to pale-violet flowers with the yellow centres, the small, round, green to yellow berries turning downward on the nodding stalks as they ripen. It grows quickly into the loose, branching form, and it stands the warm season well. It likes the sun, and the deep, rich, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The deflexed-fruit nightshade turns up in the surveys of the wild Solanum relatives, and the deflexicarpum species appears in the studies of the berry-dispersal mechanisms and the nodding fruit stalks. The work looks at the way the berries bend the stems downward as they colour, the seed loads, and the seed biology. The botanists keep the dispersal habit in view, and the growers of the botanical and display collections list the nightshade in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the wayside scrub, the deflexed-fruit nightshade carries the nodding berry clusters through the warm months. The white flowers open through the season, the fruit set follows in good time, and the plant makes the curious botanical specimen. Like the other nightshades, the unripe berries hold the alkaloid compounds and are for the eyes only, not the table. It thrives in the deep, rich, sunny ground. Nodding-berried, white-flowered and eyes-only.

To grow the Deflexed-fruit Nightshade from seed, sow the seeds in a warm, sheltered bed of rich soil.

Sow the seeds in a warm, sheltered bed of rich soil, and keep the young plants in the open, sunny spot. The nodding berries follow in their own rhythm. , pressing them in lightly, keep the bed lightly watered, and the young plants come through as the soil holds the warmth. The nodding berries follow in their own rhythm.