Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - Bed of Nails....cool plant!

I have [url=http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/NatureWalker_1129102480_813.jpg]Scarlet Eggplant, Mock Tomato Mini Pumpkins (Solanum aethiopicum)[/url]

Sold as Solanum integrifolium “Hmong Eggplant”. The thorns make you want run away faster than a speeding bullet. The leaves have thorns throughout the tops of them especially through the center vain.

Annie's Annuals says: Have you seen those cute miniature pumpkins on a branch at the florists before? Well, this is the plant that makes them. To 3’ tall with interesting leaves having spines along the mid-rib. Also used in SE Asian cooking.

J. L. Hudson, Seedsman says: 'Ruffled Red Eggplant', Tomato-Eggplant', or 'Hmong Eggplant'. Orange-red 1 - 3" ribbed fruits valued fresh or dried in flower arranging. Spiny annual to 8 feet. Tropics. Used in SE Asian cooking. Sometimes called 'mini-pumpkins' in the flower-trade.

[color=darkred]I have plenty of seeds available if you'd like! Just PM me.[/color] It grows from Herbacious to Deciduous in 3 months time. & the thorns don't quit. Asian people use them as privacy fences.
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Info on [url=http://tomclothier.hort.net/album/ruffled.htm]Solanum integrifolium and Solanum quitoense[/url]

I know you'll [color=red]Love this[/color], nctomatoman:

NEW - SCARLET CHINESE EGGPLANT - VERY RARE SOLANUM - -(Solanum integrifolium ) - I was given a few dried out fruits of this rare, weird, unknown-to-me, plant. I was told it was the elusive Australian Pumpkin Bush/Tree, however it turned out not to be that, but a truly gorgeous and showy solanum (eggplant) instead. I planted some seeds and lo and behold what a lovely surprise! The ripe, ridged fruit turn a wonderful brilliant orange color. Their shape is exactly like miniature pumpkins. My plants grew about 3 1/2 feet tall, in containers in my zone 6a garden, but I imagine in a warmer climate and planted in the ground they may get much larger.I did a lot of research and was able to positively identify this as "Hmong Red Eggplant" . It hails from northern Thailand. The Hmong are a mountain tribal group. A most unusual and rare plant in the Eggplant family. It is also grown through out mountainous areas of Asia.

It is edible but like many eggplants in Asia it has that bitter taste adored by the Orientals, but not so well liked by westerners, who prefer a milder tasting fruit. Fabulous showy ornamental garden plant with pretty purple flowers, deep purple stems and branches, and very large, peculiar shaped leaves. You will love this beautiful plant to show off to your neighbors. And if you feel brave you can try it in a hot, spicy Thai recipe. The hot Thai spices blend well with this type of eggplant. It is certainly pretty enough to be in a flower bed. In the Civil War era in America, eggplants were not considered edible but were grown as specimen plants in flower beds for their beauty. It dries quite nicely and the branches with fruits make great additions to flower arrangements. I found , in my extensive reseach, that this was listed as early as 1879 as "Scarlet Chinese" in Vanderbilt's Seed List of that same year.Fabulous showy garden plant with pretty purple flowers, deep purple stems and branches, and very large peculiar shaped leaves. You will love this beautiful ornamental plant to show off to your neighbors. It dries quite nicely and makes great additions to flower arrangements. 10 of my own fresh organically grown seed. All seed packs are $2.50 each

[url]http://www.amishlandseeds.com/eggplant.htm[/url]