MNAVU SEEDS

Solanum villosum

Though the notion of eating the leaves of any Solanum species likely seems crazy to the average indoctrinated American, it is indeed the leaves (and not the fruit) of this particular species that are most valued as a vegetable in East African countries. There, the bundled young plants demand a high market price. These nutritious leaves are boiled and prepared like spinach or amaranth, usually in combination with other greens.

In much of the American and European seed trade, this species is misrepresented as having desirable fruits. Though they taste vaguely of tomato, the flavor is not as sweet or agreeable as one might hope. Literature suggests that both ripe and unripe fruits are used mainly medicinally, which seems reasonable, as their culinary value is questionable, to say the least.

Most common today in Africa, taxonomists presume this species to be native to Eurasia, most likely along the Mediterranean. It is an introduced species in North America, where it sometimes appears as a weed. Easily identified, the foliage is uniquely downy and soft, and the fruit are borne in generous clusters that ripen early in the season.

Seeds may be sown indoors or out in warm soil and bright light. Germination can be expected in about a week. Plants are very precocious, especially when stressed. Ours began fruiting while still in their nursery pots. Direct sowing is preferable if plants are grown for greens. Harvest between three and five weeks after germination, and definitely before blooming begins. Several successive harvests of new growth may be had over a single season. Rich fertile soil that receives ample water will prolong leaf production and delay flowering.

If growing for fruit (and seeds), plants will do well in poor dry soils or neglected containers. Fruiting occurs over a long period. Protect ripe fruits from birds and other critters.

An exhaustive review of edible African nightshades, including nutritional and toxicological profiles of both fruit and foliage, is available HERE.

Grown by Farmacie Isolde.

Packet contains at least 50 seeds.