BRIEF DESCRIPTION A spreading or scrambling slender shrub, up to 3 m tall, pubescent with stellate hairs. Leaves ovate, 7-20 x 4-18 cm, fruits. USES The unripe fruit are eaten raw or cooked as vegetables and in curries. The roots have medicinal properties. It is sometimes used as rootstock for tomato to resist bacterial wilt, and for eggplant. GROWING PERIOD Perennial. Plants are said to have an economic lifetime of 3-4 years. COMMON NAMES Plate bush, Devil's fig, Terongan, Turkeyberry, Takokak, Pokak, Terong pipit, Terong rembang, Podopodo kai ra ta ba rau, Takapasin, Taogotan, Balbalusa, Kh'eengz faaz, Kh'eengz saph'au. FURTHER INF Scientific synonym: S. ferrugineum, S. largiflotum. Plate bush originates from the Antilles, but is now a pantropical weed, occasionally cultivated. It occurs at elevations up to 1600 m. Heavy rainfall discourages fruit set. |