Solanum Species, Kangaroo Apple, New Zealand Nightshade, Slit-Leafed Nightshade

Precipitation: 600 to 700 mm/year.
need 1000 to 1500 h Light in growth stage
Suitable temperature for germination: 20 to 25...Read More degrees of centigrade.
Best harvested time: when shrub is on 70-80 centimeter height.

This plant found it's own way into my garden four years ago. It grew quickly, strongly and beautifully to about ten feet tall. Unfortuna...Read Moretely, it barred my way into my shed so I had to cut it down. This year(2007) I have a profusion of new plants growing from the dropped fruits... so, it is easily germinated, self seeding, likes quite a lot of water, fast growing, not too much direct sunlight and beautiful to look at. I live in south east London, England and have completely fallen in love with it.!

The name Kangaroo-apple given to this plant suggests that the fruit might be eaten by kangaroos. This is not the case, the name actually ...Read Morerelates to the shape of the leaves. On a young plant, the leaves are unbranched, but eventually develop multiple broad pinnae. There is an intermediate stage, where some of the leavess have a single branch pinna on one side only. This leaf shape then resembles a kangaroo's footprint, which has one long toe and one slighly shorter toe beside it. This naming system is shared with the Kangaroo Fern - Microsorum pustulatum, whose fronds go through the same succession of shapes.
This Kangaroo-apple is widespread, but not common in my area of Victoria in Australia, often growing in rocky areas. The ripe berries are yellow to deep orange and were eaten by the local Aboriginal people, the Ganai, though only when fully ripened. The very similar Solanum aviculare, is much commoner, but the fruit were considered too poisonous to eat.