Solanum aviculare, commonly called poroporo or pōporo (New Zealand), bumurra (Dharug),[2] kangaroo apple, pam plum (Australia), or New Zealand nightshade,[3] is a soft-wooded shrub native to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.
| Solanum aviculare | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Solanum |
| Species: | S. aviculare
|
| Binomial name | |
| Solanum aviculare | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
and see text | |
The Māori names pōroporo and pōporo come from a generic Proto-Polynesian term for any Solanum species and similar berry-bearing plants. Other names used for Solanum aviculare in the language include hōreto and peoi.[4][5]
Taxonomy and systematics
editSolanum aviculare was first described by German naturalist Georg Forster in 1786, from a collection in New Zealand.[6]
Solanum aviculare is similar to Solanum laciniatum, with which it has been confused. Compared to S. laciniatum, S. aviculare has smaller flowers (usually pale blue, sometimes dark purple, white or striped blue / white) with acute corolla lobes, it has smaller seeds, up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long, and a different chromosome number (2n = 46) and is found on the Kermadec Islands, North Island, northern South Island and Chatham Islands of New Zealand, while S. laciniatum has much larger, rotate, darker purple flowers with broad, flared (ruffled) corolla lobes with rounded apices, larger seeds that are 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long, and a different chromosome number (2n = 92). It is mostly found south of Auckland and is very common in the southern North Island, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands. Solanum laciniatum is the most commonly found species overseas where it is often incorrectly called S. aviculare.
In addition to this two varieties of S. aviculare have been named. S. aviculare var. albiflorum is a minor genetic sport of S. aviculare and is generally not regarded as distinct but S. aviculare var. latifolium has a different growth habit, much broader, usually entire leaves and larger flowers, and in New Zealand (where it is endemic) it is still accepted as distinct by many botanists.
- Solanum aviculare var. albiflorum Cheeseman
- Solanum aviculare var. latifolium G.T.S.Baylis
Description
editSolanum aviculare is an upright shrub that can grow up to 4 m (13 ft) tall.[7] The leaves are 8–30 cm (3.1–12 in) long, lobed or entire, with any lobes being 1–10 cm (0.4–4 in) long.
Its hermaphroditic (having both male and female organs) flowers are white, mauve to blue-violet, 25–40 mm (0.98–1.6 in) wide, and are followed by berries 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) wide that are poisonous while green, but edible once ripe (orange).[8][7]
Distribution and habitat
editSolanum aviculare grows in rainforests, wet forests and rainforest margins on clay soils. Associated Australian species include the rainforest plants Golden sassafras (Doryphora sassafras), black wattle (Acacia melanoxylon), and lillypilly (Acmena smithii), and wet forest species brown barrel (Eucalyptus fastigata) and turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera).[7]
Ecology
editBees are thought to pollinate the flowers.[7]
Uses
editThe fruit when unripe was traditionally boiled by Indigenous communities in Australia to allow for its use as an oral contraceptive for women.[9][10]
The leaves and unripe fruits of S. aviculare contain the toxic alkaloid solasodine. S. aviculare is cultivated in Russia and Hungary for the solasidine which is extracted and used as a base material for the production of steroid contraceptives.[11]
Indigenous communities in Australia also used the fruit as a poultice on swollen joints. The plant contains a steroid which is important to the production of cortisone.[12]
The plant is also used as a rootstock for grafting eggplant.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Solanum sessiliflorum". April 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Dharug Dictionary". Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Solanum aviculare". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ "Te Māra Reo". www.temarareo.org. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ "Māori Plant Use Database Plant Use Details of Solanum aviculare, Solanum laciniatum". maoriplantuse.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ "Solanum aviculare G.Forst". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
- ^ a b c d Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (2001). "Ecology of Sydney plant species". Cunninghamia. 7 (2): 371–372. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
- ^ "Solanum aviculare". PlantNET (The NSW Plant Information Network System). Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney.
- ^ Gott, Beth (5 June 2018). "The art of healing: five medicinal plants used by Aboriginal Australians". The Conversation. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Critchley, Cheryl (13 May 2018). "The endurance of bush medicine". Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ Bush Medicine, A Pharmacopoeia of Natural Remedies. Angus & Robertson. 1990. pp. 210–211. ISBN 0207164622.
- ^ "Top 10 Aboriginal bush medicines". Australian Geographic. 8 February 2011.
- ^ "Grafting Eggplant onto Devil Plant". Deep Green Permaculture. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
External links
edit
- Plants of New Zealand S. aviculare