Solanum aculeatissimum

Solanum aculeatissimum, also known as the Indian Nightshade and Dutch eggplant,^[1] is a weedy shrub that bears small, 2-3 cm pale yellow fruit following white flowers with characteristic Solanum yellow stamens. Where S. aculeatissimum is native to has yet to be conclusively determined. Despite its common name suggesting a South-Asian origin, however, the plant's origin is most likely either Africa or South America; while specimens have been identified in Asia, it is rare there and believed to be the result of accidental or deliberate introduction. It is closely related to other Solanum species native to both sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. Africa was the first continent in which S. aculeastissium was documented. Scottish-born botanist Francis Masson found the plant near the Cape of Good Hope either during the years 1772–1774, or during a subsequent expedition when he remained in southern Africa from 1786 until 1795. In South America, the plant was first described in 1816-1821 by Augustin Saint-Hilaire.^[2]

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