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Litchi Tomato Solanum Sisymbriifolium Morelle De Balbis Seeds
Packet of 25+ seeds of this fantastic little fruit!
On of my latest favourite plants, and one I highly recommend for a heap of different reasons!
I was originally concerned that the taste wouldn’t be up to scratch.
Thought it might be more eggplant than tomato if you know what I mean..
100% wrong, absolutely delicious!
Like a mix of guava, tomato, cherries and strawberry, but more sweet than sour.
Really good, I have been eating heaps!
The second thing I was worried about was the spikes.
I really like spiky plants as they look cool and keep the wallabies and parrots off the fruit, but often that makes them hard to harvest.
The spikes on these guys are like long nails, not hooked like roses, so they don’t catch your skin of clothing.
Ok, that’s good, but still not great I though.
Now this is where it gets really cool!
The fruit are covered in a spiky calyx making them look like a sea mine. Impenetrable protection on the fruit.
But, as soon as the fruit is ready, the calyx peels back exposing the fruit!
It just hangs there, clear of the spikes, out in the open away from the stem and branches, at the edge of the plant, clearly on display, super easy to pick.
Just as easy as a cherry tomato, but unlike the tomatoes every bunch of fruit has a couple ripe fruit every day.
I know it is hard to believe, but off 5 unloved plants growing in gravel dry soil, I have gotten ~2cups of beautiful fruit, every single day, for more than 9weeks! After that I stopped counting.
Kilos and kilos, and they really do taste great!
Drought tolerant, fast growing, beautiful looking and even better tasting.
The only downside is the spikes, but now that I have grown them and can see the spikes don’t interfere with the harvest of fruit at all, and it is more of an advantage than anything.
I better stress that this is NOT the toxic and invasive American Horsenettle or Solanum carolinense which it often cops the blame for. That fella has no protective husk or calyx over the fruit, as it doesn’t need it.
It is already toxic.
This fella is non-toxic and delicious, hence the need for the spiky protective sheath over the fruit.
Now that is out of the way, on to names.
These guys are grown commercially and in home gardens all over the world and have a heap of different ones, here are a few.
Sticky Nightshade, Morelle de Balbis, Ocote mullaca, Pilkalapis baklazanas, Devils tomatoes, Puca-puca, Raukenblatt-nachtschatten, Red buffalo burr, Revienta caballo, Tomatillo, Tutia, Tutia o Espina Colorada, Uvilla, Viscid nightshade, Fire & Ice Plant, Alco Chileo, Arrabenta cavalo, wildetamatie, wild tomato, sticky nightshade, liuskakoiso, Espina colorada, Doringtamatie, Dense thorned bitter apple, Bitter apple, Jeweelie, Joa bravo, Jua das queimadas, Jua de roca, Klebriger nachtschatten, Liuskakoiso, Manacader, Morelle de balbis, Mullaca espinudo, Wild tomato, Wildetamatie, and most common of all, Litchi Tomato.
Also the botanical names Solanum balbisii, Solanum bipinnatifidum, Solanum brancaefolium, Solanum decurrens, Solanum edule, Solanum formosum, Solanum inflatum, Solanum mauritianum, Solanum opuliflorum, Solanum opuliflorum, Solanum rogersii, Solanum sabeanum, Solanum subviscidum, Solanum thouinii, Solanum viscidum, Solanum viscosum, Solanum xanthacanthum, Solanum sisymbriifolium var. purpureiflorum, Solanum sisymbriifolium forma albiflorum, Solanum sisymbriifolium var. bipinnatipartitum, Solanum sisymbriifolium var. brevilobum, Solanum sisymbriifolium var. gracile, Solanum sisymbriifolium var. heracleifolium, Solanum sisymbriifolium forma lilacinum, Solanum sisymbriifolium var. macrocarpum, and lastly Solanum sisymbriifolium var. oligospermum.
Historically used on a large scale in many countries both as a trap crop to protect potatoes from potato cyst nematode and as an edible hedge to divide property and keep out critters.
There you have it folks, another beauty!
Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems no nasties no problems!!!
