Cyphomandra was a formerly accepted genus in the plant family Solanaceae (the nightshades and relative). It used to contain about 35 species native to the Americas from Mexico southwards to Northern Argentina. [1]
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Recent authors have treated Cyphomandra as a clade within the genus Solanum rather than as a separate genus, uniting the members of the old genus with some other Solanum. This lineage is one among a group related to part of the traditional subgenus Leptostemonum. Thus, if it is preferred to retain the taxon, Cyphomandra is probably best considered a section in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. [2]
Most grow as shrubs or small trees 2 or 3 metres in height. The best known species is the widely cultivated Tamarillo or tree tomato, but a number of the others are also cultivated as garden plants because of their attractive flowers or fruits. Several other species (e.g. S. cajanumense, S. circinatum, S. sibundoyense ) also have fruits that are edible when ripe, and yet others are used as dyestuffs or in folk medicine where they are native. [3]