Solanum lycocarpum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Solanales |
Family: | Solanaceae |
Genus: | Solanum |
Species: | S. lycocarpum |
Binomial name | |
Solanum lycocarpum | |
Solanum lycocarpum, or wolf apple, is common in the Brazilian savanna, the Cerrado ecoregion. The plant is called lobeira ("wolf's plant") or fruta-do-lobo ("wolf's fruit") in Portuguese. [1]
The name "wolf apple" comes from the fact that they account for more than 50% of the maned wolf's diet. [1] Likewise, the scientific name "lycocarpum" is formed from Latinized Greek elements "lyco-", meaning "wolf", and "carpum" meaning "fruit". [2]
The native range of the wolf apple tree is the Brazilian savannah, but it grows also on pastures and disturbed land, such as highway margins, in various parts of Brazil. [3] It prefers moist, clay soil, full sun, and mild temperatures. [4] [5]
The wolf apple plant is a flowering shrub or small tree with round open crown, ranging in height from 1.2 to 5 m (4 to 16 ft). The large leaves are 16 to 28 cm (6 to 11 in) long, simple but deeply lobed, tough, and covered in a soft grey-white fuzz, in alternate disposition.
Plants flower through the year, but more intensely during the dry season, from late fall to early spring. The flowers are similar to those of the bitter nightshade: star-shaped, with five sepals, five blue or purple petals fused at the base, and five large yellow anthers that release pollen through an opening at the tip. The flowers are arranged in helical monochasal cyme, opening from the base up. Flowers lack nectar, and are either male or hermaphroditic. The latter produce fruit after cross-pollination by several species of pollen-collecting bees, including Xylocopa virescens , X. frontalis , Oxaea flavescens , Centris scopipes , C. fuscata , Bombus morio , Exomalopsis sp., Pseudaugochloropsis graminea , Apis mellifera , and Megachile benigna . [4] [5]
Fruit production occurs mostly between December and January. The fruits are large, up to 20 cm (8 in) in diameter and weighing 900 g (2 lb) or more, and contain up to 500 dark brown comma-shaped seeds, about 7 mm × 5 mm × 2 mm (1⁄4 in × 3⁄16 in × 1⁄16 in). [6] The rind is thin and lustrous, and remains green even after ripening. [6] The pulp is yellowish, soft, sweetish and extremely aromatic. [3] They resemble the tomato in external shape and internal morphology, [5] but also the eggplant for the texture and color of the flesh. The maned wolf is an important seed-spreading agent. [7]
The ripe fruits are edible to humans, and are consumed by local populations in jams and preserves, but the unripe fruits are quite rich in tannin. [5] The fruits are used as a fallback source of food for cattle in the dry season.
At the onset of maturation, the whole fruit contains 85% moisture (by weight), 5% starch, and 10% other residue. [3] The dry pulp, without peel and seeds, yields over 50% starch, more than cassava. [8] The starch is locally separated by blending the fruit with water and straining. [3]
The pulp of the ripe fruit contains about 75% moisture, 11% carbohydrate, 1% fat, 1% protein, 1% ash, 2.5% soluble fiber, and 2% insoluble fiber. The main volatiles in the ripe fruit are hexanal (which has the scent of grass) and ethyl butanoate (scent of apple), although dozens of other compounds contribute to the fruit's aroma. [9]
All other parts of the plant are poisonous to humans. However, the leaves are eaten by cattle, and are also an important food source for the bat Platyrrhinus lineatus . [10]
Currently, there are no proven medicinal uses for the wolf apple, but the plant is used in the local folk medicine for obesity, cholesterol reduction, and as a treatment for diabetes. [5] About 30% of the starch extracted from almost-ripe fruits, which commercialized as capsules, is digestion-resistant, [3] which seems to be the rationale for these popular uses. [11] High-fiber Solanum lycocarpum flour was found to reduce diabetes symptoms in diabetic rats; [12] however, the starch did not show such effect. [13]
The fruit contains about 1.5% of glycoalkaloids in its dried fruits, chiefly solamargine and solasonine, [14] mostly in the peel and seeds. [3] Extracts have been shown to kill in vitro the human parasites Schistosoma mansoni [15] and Giardia lamblia , [16] Leishmania amazonensis , [17] and Leishmania infantum . [18] The main phenolic compounds in ethanol extracts of the ripe fruits are caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid. [19]
It is believed that the fruits protect the maned wolf from infection of the giant kidney worm, which is usually fatal for the animal. [5]
Solanum lycocarpum fruit extracts have also been shown to kill larvae of the Culex mosquito. [20]
The wolf apple tree is the natural host of the larva of the butterfly Leucanella memusae . Contact with the urticating bristles of this caterpillar may result in severe dermatitis and hemorrhage. [21]
The weevil Collabismus clitellae lays eggs into stems of the plant, causing the formation of galls, with measurable harmful effect on the plant's growth and fruit production. [22]
The potato is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Eggplant, aubergine, brinjal, or baigan is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Solanum melongena is grown worldwide for its edible fruit.
Solanum is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance: the potato, the tomato and the eggplant. It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae, comprising around 1,500 species. It also contains the so-called horse nettles, as well as numerous plants cultivated for their ornamental flowers and fruit.
Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the fruit seem tarter. This effect is attributed to the Brix-Acid Ratio. Climacteric fruits ripen after harvesting and so some fruits for market are picked green.
Solanum carolinense, the Carolina horsenettle, is not a true nettle, but a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to the southeastern United States, though its range has expanded throughout much of temperate North America. The plant is an invasive in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The stem and undersides of larger leaf veins are covered with prickles.
Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family within the genus Solanum, such as the potato, the tomato, and the eggplant. It can occur naturally in any part of the plant, including the leaves, fruit, and tubers. Solanine has pesticidal properties, and it is one of the plant's natural defenses. Solanine was first isolated in 1820 from the berries of the European black nightshade, after which it was named. It belongs to the chemical family of saponins.
Solanum quitoense, known as naranjilla in Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Panama and as lulo in Colombia, is a tropical perennial plant from northwestern South America. The specific name for this species of nightshade means "from Quito."
Solanum americanum, commonly known as American black nightshade, small-flowered nightshade or glossy nightshade, is a herbaceous flowering plant of wide though uncertain native range. The certain native range encompasses the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Melanesia, New Guinea, and Australia.
Solanum nigrum, the European black nightshade or simply black nightshade or blackberry nightshade, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa. Ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine. Some other species may also be referred to as "black nightshade".
Solanum mammosum, commonly known as nipplefruit, fox head, cow's udder, or apple of Sodom, is an inedible Pan-American tropical fruit. The plant is grown for ornamental purposes, in part because of the distal end of the fruit's resemblance to a human breast, while the proximal end looks like a cow's udder. It is an annual in the family Solanaceae, and part of the genus Solanum, making the plant a relative of the eggplant, tomato, and potato. This poisonous fruit is native to South America, but has been naturalized in Southern Mexico, Greater Antilles, Central America, and the Caribbean. The plant adapts well to most soils, but thrives in moist, loamy soil.
Solanum torvum, also known as pendejera, turkey berry, devil's fig, pea eggplant, platebrush or susumber, is a bushy, erect and spiny perennial plant used horticulturally as a rootstock for eggplant. Grafted plants are very vigorous and tolerate diseases affecting the root system, thus allowing the crop to continue for a second year.
Solanum linnaeanum is a nightshade species known as devil's apple and, in some places where it is introduced, apple of Sodom. The latter name is also used for other nightshades and entirely different plants elsewhere, in particular the poisonous milkweed Calotropis procera.
The Ipanema bat is a bat species of order Chiroptera and family Phyllostomidae. It is found in northern Argentina, Bolivia, southeastern Brazil and Paraguay. It is the only species within its genus.
Solanum sibundoyense is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae. It is endemic to Colombia, specifically to Sibundoy and surrounding areas, and usually resides in cloud forests, 1400–2300 meters in elevation. It is also known as tomate salvaje or tomate silvestre to natives of Colombia, and also sometimes called Cyphomandra sibundoyensis. It's a small tree 4–8 m tall. Stems glabrous or sparsely puberulent with glandular and eglandular hairs less than 0.5 mm long.
Tomatine is a glycoalkaloid, found in the stems and leaves of tomato plants, and in the fruits at much lower concentrations. Chemically pure tomatine is a white crystalline solid at standard temperature and pressure.
Solanum macrocarpon otherwise known as the African eggplant : añara), Surinamese eggplant or Vietnamese eggplant is a plant of the family Solanaceae. S. macrocarpon is a tropical perennial plant that is closely related to the eggplant. S. macrocarpon originated from West Africa, but is now widely distributed in Central and East Africa. The plant also grows in the Caribbean, South America, and some parts of Southeast Asia. S. macrocarpon is widely cultivated for its use as a food, its medicinal purposes, and as an ornamental plant.
Solanidine is a poisonous steroidal alkaloid chemical compound that occurs in plants of the family Solanaceae, such as potato and Solanum americanum. The sugar portion of glycoalkaloids hydrolyses in the body, leaving the solanidine portion.
The Solanaceae, or the nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some are highly toxic, but many—including tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell, and chili peppers—are used as food. The family belongs to the order Solanales, in the asterid group and class Magnoliopsida (dicotyledons). The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species, with a great diversity of habitats, morphology and ecology.
Solanum sturtianum, commonly known as Sturt’s nightshade or Thargomindah nightshade, is a flowering plant from the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. Distinct by its purple flowers and dark-black fruits, it is a shrub endemic to the arid zones of mainland Australia.
Solanum petrophilum, commonly known as rock nightshade or prickly nightshade, is an Australian native perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the family Solanaceae. Solanaceae has a worldwide distribution and also contains important food species such as the tomato, peppers, and potatoes.