Solanum muricatum Seeds | Pepino

Pepino (Solanum muricatum) with pale violet flowers and striped cream-and-purple fruit on a low bushy plant — Pepino (*Solanum muricatum*): Solanaceae, the Andean fruit that tastes of melon and cucumber, grown as a compact bush in warm gardens.

LATIN NAME: Solanum muricatum

COMMON NAME: Pepino

Plant Profile

Pepino is a soft, bushy subshrub, half a metre to a metre tall, with thick, velvety, lobed leaves and stems that stay green and fleshy rather than woody. It branches freely from the base, and in a warm climate it can be treated as a short-lived perennial, though it is usually grown as an annual because the fruit quality declines on old plants. The flowers are star-shaped and pale violet with darker veins, held in small clusters, and they look exactly like what they are: a potato relative in flower.

The fruit is the point. It is oval, eight to fifteen centimetres long, cream to pale yellow at maturity with purple or violet stripes that vary in intensity with variety and with the amount of sun the fruit receives. The flesh is juicy, pale and mild, with a flavour somewhere between melon, cucumber and pear, and it is eaten fresh, in fruit salads or juiced. The species is native to the Andes of Peru, Ecuador and southern Colombia, where it was domesticated long before the Inca and is still grown in small plots at middle altitudes. It was taken to Europe in the eighteenth century and has since become a minor commercial crop in New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Spain.

Science & Biotechnology

Pepino is a case study in the genetics of domestication. The cultivated forms have very low genetic diversity compared with wild relatives, and they are largely self-incompatible, which means that a planting of a single clone sets little or no fruit without cross-pollination. Commercial growers use a mixture of compatible clones, or hand-pollinate, or grow parthenocarpic selections that set fruit without pollination. The species is also unusual in being largely propagated by cuttings, so that cultivars are clonal and the seed crop is genetically variable and not true to type.

Research on the fruit has looked at the volatile profile, which is dominated by esters and lactones that give the melon-like aroma, and at the sugars and organic acids that determine sweetness. The fruit is climacteric and ripens after picking, but it is sensitive to chilling and develops internal browning below about seven degrees, which limits its storage and transport and is one of the reasons it has never become a major export crop. Work on the plant’s physiology has also examined its tolerance of salinity and its response to grafting onto tomato and other Solanum rootstocks, which is used in some production systems to control soil-borne disease.

Uses & Benefits

Pepino is grown for its fruit, and in a warm climate it is one of the more rewarding unusual fruits for a garden, producing a crop within four to five months of planting. The fruit is best eaten fully ripe, when the stripes are vivid and the flesh yields slightly to pressure; underripe fruit is bland and slightly bitter. It can be used wherever melon is used, and it holds its shape well in fruit salad. In cool climates it can be grown in a large pot in a greenhouse or a conservatory, where it will fruit if hand-pollinated.

The plant is also decorative, with its violet flowers and striped fruit, and it works well in a mixed border or a large container in a sunny, sheltered spot. It is not frost hardy and will not tolerate cold nights, so in temperate climates it needs to be started under cover and planted out only when the soil is warm. It is a heavy feeder and responds well to rich compost and regular watering, though the fruit splits if watering is uneven.

Growing from Seed

Sow the seed in late winter or early spring, at twenty-two to twenty-five degrees, on the surface of a moist seed mix, covering lightly. Germination takes two to four weeks and is usually reliable if the seed is fresh. Pot the seedlings on individually as soon as they can be handled, and grow them on in a bright, warm place, pinching out the growing tips once or twice to encourage branching.

Plant out after the last frost, into rich, well-drained soil in full sun, allowing seventy centimetres between plants, and provide a stake or a low cage to support the weight of the fruit. Water regularly and feed with a tomato fertiliser once the first flowers open. To set fruit, either grow two or three different clones together or hand-pollinate with a soft brush in the middle of the day. Pick the fruit when it is fully coloured and slightly soft. Cuttings taken in late summer root easily and are the way to keep a good selection true.

Our Take

A worthwhile unusual fruit for a warm garden, and a handsome plant in its own right. Grow several clones together, keep the water even, and pick the fruit late.

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