Purple veins with furry leaves?

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by tropical, Feb 28, 2008.

  1. tropical

    tropical Active Member 10 Years

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    Can anyone identify this tropical plant for me?
     

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  2. Weekend Gardener

    Weekend Gardener Active Member 10 Years

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    The leaves look similar to some of the tropical Solanum we see in Southeast Asia. ?Solanum melongena - brinjal? Solanum xanthocarpum? The latter is a prickly plant, though. The fruits are yellow and as a sour taste when cooked.
     
  3. pierrot

    pierrot Active Member

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  4. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Nope. That's Solanum quitoense, commonly called the Naranjilla. Where did you get that?

    Looks like you're doing something right - they're fairly finicky plants. If you pollinate it yourself when it blooms, it'll throw tasty fruits - they're ripe when they're orange; pick them using a hanky and rub all the fuzz off before you eat them. Down here, the fruits are usually juiced and sweetened a bit. A ripe Naranjilla has more vitamin C than an orange, and it makes them a bit tangy.

    Make sure that they are in well-draining soil, and if you want them to bloom try to give them 12 hours of light and 12 of dark (mimics the day cycle of the Equator, where Naranjillas come from) - as it's still winter in Canada this might mean grow lights to supplement their natural sunlight cycle. Once it goes past 15 C, you can put them outside in a half-sun location (under deciduous trees is ideal.) Bring it inside if there's any indication that the temperature's going to top 35 C, as this will kill it or at least make it extremely miserable. I had to put ice around the base of my plants when this happened, since they were in the ground. Once you've got it established, it's easy to propagate from cuttings.

    Best of luck, and if there's any more info you need, just ask!
     
    Last edited: Feb 29, 2008
  5. tropical

    tropical Active Member 10 Years

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    Hmmm, very interesting info Lorax. Thank you!

    I got a clipping from a friend, but it's not growing in Canada, it's home is the Caribbean.
    That would explain why it wasn't finicky, but started flourishing right away.
    The second pic is the cutting, the other photo is after about 10 weeks growth.

    I did some googling and I'm wondering why mine doesn't have