What Fruit Or Plant Is This?

[No1]

Thanks for your kind answer!

Edited March 3, 2011 by No1

[troysantos]

It's so shiny ya gotta wonder if it's even real. Where'd you get the photo? I guess you don't know a name in Thai.

[sbk]

I believe its an ornamental eggplant

[No1]

I believe its an ornamental eggplant

Yes, I have heard that it's an eggplant. I now made a picture search for "ornamental eggplant" and indeed found some results which look very much like it. Earlier searches for eggplant never returned this funny fruit. It seems another name for it is "nipple fruit eggplant", "foxheads" or scientifically "Solanum mamosum".

@Troysantos: nope, I don't know the name in Thai.

Thanks to all for trying.

[PhilHarries]

Also known as:-

• Pumpkin tree

• Pumpkin bush

• Ornamental eggplant

• Mock tomato

• Turkish Orange

• Pumpkin on a stick

• Solanum Integrifolium

• Hmong Eggplant

• Japanese Golden Eyes

• Chinese Scarlet Eggplant

Never saw it in Thailand so haven't a clue what they would call it though there are references to it with respect to Issan cooking.

[WatersEdge]

Interesting, learned my new topic of the day.

It is listed with a good photo as Solanum mammosum => Cow Udder Plant

http://www.rjhorton.com.au/Site/Fruit/slides/Solanum%20mammosum%20cow%20udder%20plant.html

I also did not know that

Tomato S. lycopersicum

Potato S. tuberosum

Eggplant S. melongena

are all of the Nightshade family

This means that they may cause pigs trouble.

All Solanum are to some degree toxic,

but they are toxic to humans in the same way as to pigs,

so apply caution as you eat happily.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum

[Foreverford]

Interesting, learned my new topic of the day.

It is listed with a good photo as Solanum mammosum => Cow Udder Plant

http://www.rjhorton....er%20plant.html

I also did not know that

Tomato S. lycopersicum

Potato S. tuberosum

Eggplant S. melongena

are all of the Nightshade family

This means that they may cause pigs trouble.

All Solanum are to some degree toxic,

but they are toxic to humans in the same way as to pigs,

so apply caution as you eat happily.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum

to the lip of the water, well done I knew about the tomato potato toxicity and that dealt mostly with the green plant material (sort of that thing about don't eat the little white sprouts on an older potato but definitely the green plant matter is a no no for soup. Unless maybe soup for the chickens that have been gorging on Issan Aussie's worm composters. Amazing that something so good for you *(tomatoes multiply processed tomatoes like paste even better) as a fruit can harm you so much as the plant. fords forever

[WatersEdge]

Foreverford brings up an interesting point about the foliage of Solanum spp. versus the Fruit.

To illustrate the point of the following observations,

Try a nibble yourself of a Solanum leaf and you'll understand that they aren't fit to eat.

A little anecdote about Eggplant leaf with Goats and Geese

This observation is across three varieties in the same garden

Aubergine big purple,

Long green

Makua hard green golf balls

Goats would previously not touch it, but over time have gained a taste for it.

Now they would ravage to the ground any that I don't protect behind electric wire

and I should say they have plenty of feed selection including dry bean hay, the best.

They also love the fruit of all three kinds, but prefer the long greens.

Goats have never touched my Tomato foliage,

but considering that I've seen them eat everything else that is supposedly toxic,

they delight in Castor and Cassava, both are supposedly no no's

I presume they eventually will try Tomato

It was reported last year that my goats tried to invade the neighbor's Potato field.

It seems from these small points of experience that everything in moderation is the key.

Geese didn't know what Eggplant foliage was, but learned to experiment,

and now are moving row by row through the garden gently removing all leaves from each plant,

then moving to the next plant, which I see as no damage, just forces the plant to put on fresh foliage

The plants are bouncing back with fresh leave never healthier

Since fresh growth is more apt to grow high on the plant, it also serves to get the leaves up higher off the soil.

Geese also have not touched Tomato foliage.

And on a totally separate note, Geese love the leaves of Guinea Cayennne Birds Eye small green & red hot chili.

they nipped every last leaf below 0.90 m...now you know how high a goose can reach on his tip toes.

I find the chili leaf tasty myself, so can understand why the geese love it.

[No1]

Geesh, Watersedge: this was a bit of a nice digression.

Btw, I took the picture myself in a garden of a Thai couple who had many of these cow udders growing.

[Foreverford]

Foreverford brings up an interesting point about the foliage of Solanum spp. versus the Fruit.

To illustrate the point of the following observations,

Try a nibble yourself of a Solanum leaf and you'll understand that they aren't fit to eat.

A little anecdote about Eggplant leaf with Goats and Geese

This observation is across three varieties in the same garden

Aubergine big purple,

Long green

Makua hard green golf balls

Goats would previously not touch it, but over time have gained a taste for it.

Now they would ravage to the ground any that I don't protect behind electric wire

and I should say they have plenty of feed selection including dry bean hay, the best.

They also love the fruit of all three kinds, but prefer the long greens.

Goats have never touched my Tomato foliage,

but considering that I've seen them eat everything else that is supposedly toxic,

they delight in Castor and Cassava, both are supposedly no no's

I presume they eventually will try Tomato

It was reported last year that my goats tried to invade the neighbor's Potato field.

It seems from these small points of experience that everything in moderation is the key.

Geese didn't know what Eggplant foliage was, but learned to experiment,

and now are moving row by row through the garden gently removing all leaves from each plant,

then moving to the next plant, which I see as no damage, just forces the plant to put on fresh foliage

The plants are bouncing back with fresh leave never healthier

Since fresh growth is more apt to grow high on the plant, it also serves to get the leaves up higher off the soil.

Geese also have not touched Tomato foliage.

And on a totally separate note, Geese love the leaves of Guinea Cayennne Birds Eye small green & red hot chili.

they nipped every last leaf below 0.90 m...now you know how high a goose can reach on his tip toes.

I find the chili leaf tasty myself, so can understand why the geese love it.

I had a couple of African pygmy for household cleaning chores then one day there was one. Eventually I moved the one back where the other had died and immmediately it went straight for a bush of poison hemlock, I put him in a headlock and tried to manage to scrape out whatever he had gotten in his mouth and am sure that is what killed the other. It never was an issue so I just made sure I kept it down around the house area. Speaking of nasty poisonous leaf matter has anyone seen any oleander bushes growing much here in Thailand. they are a beautiful garden delight. The poor man's rose as it is called. Fords a furrowing

[No1]

I had a couple of African pygmy for household cleaning chores ...

Wouldn't Burmese do a better job?

[Foreverford]

I had a couple of African pygmy for household cleaning chores ...

Wouldn't Burmese do a better job?

too expensive to bring to Monterey California, any poison hemlock this part of the globe?

[sbk]

Oleander is everywhere, the pink, white and red varieties and is really a lovely bush. Mine has grown to a two story height (it is a very old bush) and is one of my favorite plants. Only problem I've had with it is a parasitic vine growing on it, but cut off that branch and the plant is fine. Good thing its got lots of branches!

But they are very poisonous if eaten, especially for small children and the sap can cause irritation and redness.