New fruit to introduce: Solanum opacum!
Received as seeds labeled “Colombian greenberry,” the locality name is probably a misnomer as the species is native to eastern Australia, but seems to have somehow gotten confused with the Colombian S. physaliifolium which is really not at all similar. Other common names include greenberry nightshade and morelle verte. Like most nightshades, this plant is rather wickedly toxic, loaded with solanine and other powerful alkaloids, in every part including the starry white flowers and fruits…UNTIL said fruits ripen, that is.
Like the names suggest these berries stay green when they ripen, but they become translucent and more golden-green when ripe and more tellingly, their clasping sepals also turn bright yellow and fold up away from the berry once ready. I think the one fruit I picked so far might still have been a day or two early based on the taste, so I’ll let them ripen further next time, but reports vary from saying they have a mildly sweet and savory flavor similar to common black nightshade (and the one I tasted was closer to this), to very richly spicy-sweet. They’re a bit full of seeds so perhaps best made into jams especially once the plants take off and start producing hilariously high crops, but if you like the crunch of seeds they can also just be popped fresh. And, they start producing early; the first flowers appeared two weeks after sprouting, and ripening only about a month beyond that and will continue for as long as the plants are not frost-killed.

#solanum #solanumopacum #nightshade #edibleplants #rarefruits #flowers #strangeplants #plants #botany #indoorplants #horticulture #botanical #gardening #educational #carltoncarnivores

Grid of green tomatoes, cause it's that time of year. #Solanum lycopersicum 'Costoluto Fiorentino'.
#garden #gardening #flowers #horticulture #photography #bloomscrolling #botany

If you'd like to learn about pests and diseases of potatoes, here are 14 pics that show spuds in various types of distress. From a visit to The Canadian Potato Museum in O'Leary, Prince Edward Island. #PrinceEdwardIsland #pei #potatoes #museum #garden #gardening #agriculture #coffins #blog #solanum https://colinpurrington.com/2025/08/gallery-of-dead-potatoes-in-silk-lined-coffins/