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Apple of Sodom

Solanum mammosum

Description:

Also called Breastberry; Cow's Udder and several other names I won't mention, these plants are known by the fruit they bear. The fruit is yellow to orange in color and has a rather unusual shape. One end resembles a woman's breast and the other a cow's udder and the fruit is so called by many. It is bell shaped with knobby protrusions on the bottom.

Habitat:

These are found throughout the two provinces of the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador that I am familiar with. It is native to South America but has been introduced (naturalized-whatever that means) into other tropical areas (e.g. Southern Mexico, Greater Antilles, Central America, and the Caribbean).

Notes:

This was amusing. Not knowing any better, I've always referred to it as Cow's Udder plant. As I had no idea where to start in the ID process, I googled that, and there it was. Cool :-) It is ornamental and although poisonous, can be boiled or cooked and eaten. I know of no one here who eats it although it is very plentiful.

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2 Comments

Tukup
Tukup 5 years ago

Interesting. Do you do anything with it? Here in the jungle it is treated like a weed with no practical use.

Tukup
Spotted by
Tukup

Morona Santiago, Ecuador

Spotted on Sep 4, 2014
Submitted on Feb 18, 2019

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