Solanum laciniatum is very similar to Solanum aviculare Forster, under which name it was introduced from Australia and grown in China on a commercial basis for its medicinal alkaloids. It differs in having yellow-orange rather than scarlet fruit, notched corolla lobes, and in details of the seeds[].

Common Name: Kangaroo Apple

General Information

Solanum laciniatum is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 3 metres tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is cultivated as a major source of the medicinal alkaloids solasodine, solasonine, and solamargin that are contained in the leaves and fruits[].

Known Hazards

All green parts of the plant, and the unripe fruits, are poisonous[, ].
Although providing many well-known foods for people, including the potato, tomato, pepper and aubergine, most species in this genus also contain toxic alkaloids. Whilst these alkaloids can make the plant useful in treaing a range of medical conditions, they can also cause problems such as nausea, vomiting, salivation, drowsiness, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, weakness and respiratory depression[].
Unless there are specific entries with information on edible uses, it would be unwise to ingest any part of this plant[].

Botanical References

,

Range

Australia - Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania; New Zealand - North Island, Chatham Island

Habitat

Open scrub and forest margins; at low elevations near the coast[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	3.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[] but is not very hardy in Britain. It sometimes succeeds as a shrub outdoors in the mildest areas of the country[] but is more usually cut to the ground by winter cold. It can, however, be grown at the foot of a warm sunny wall and be treated as a herbaceous perennial. As long as the roots are given a good mulch in autumn they should survive quite cold winters[, ].
Succeeds in most fertile soils in a sunny position[].
Alternatively, it is possible to grow the plant as an annual. If the seed is sown in early spring in a warm greenhouse and planted out after the last frosts it can fruit in its first year though yields will be lower than from plants grown as perennials[].
There is much confusion between this species and Solanum aviculare. Some botanists unite the two under Solanum aviculare whilst others say that Solanum laciniatum is a tetraploid form of that species[]. Solanum laciniatum is treated as a distinct species here[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. It must be thoroughly ripe because the unripe fruit is poisonous[, , , ]. It can be used as a sweet fruit or as a vegetable[]. Best harvested once it has fallen from the plant, the fruit will then have lost its unpleasant acidity[]. It tastes much worse than it looks, the fruit is sickly sweet and often bitter[]. The quality varies from plant to plant and even from year to year from the same plant[]. The orange-yellow, ovoid or ellipsoid fruit is around 30mm x 25mm, and contains a large number of flat seeds[].

Medicinal

The plant is a source of several steroidal compounds, including solasodine, solasonine, and solamargin, which are much used in the pharmaceutical industry. The leaves and unripe berries are the richest source[, , ].

Agroforestry Uses:

In warm temperate to subtropical climates this plant is often used as a hedge[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. Germinates in 2 - 3 weeks at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing the plants as annuals, plant them out after the last expected frosts and give them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing well. If growing as a perennial, especially in areas at the limits of its cold-hardiness, it will probably be better to grow the plants on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Give them fairly large pots (12cm or larger) because they have very strong root growth. Top growth might die back over winter, but the roots should survive if temperatures in the greenhouse do not fall below about -5°c. Plant them out in early summer of the following year. The plants will be somewhat hardier in their second winter.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks. Pot them up in fairly large pots and overwinter them in the greenhouse before planting out in early summer.