Solanum pseudolulo
Encyclopedia
Solanum pseudolulo is a subtropical perennial plant
from northwestern South America
. The pseudolulo is a large herbaceous plant or a small shrub, with heart-shaped leaves. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered in short hairs, and the entire plant is often covered in sharp spines.
Occasionally known as lulo de perro, the pseudolulo bears edible fruit, but is rarely cultivated. Instead, the plant proliferates as a weedy species at medium-altitude locations in Colombia
and Ecuador
. The fruit is generally regarded as inferior to the true lulo - naranjilla
- but the fruit is occasionally sold in markets, and the plant is generally tolerated as a garden intruder. Unlike the lulo/naranjilla, the pseudolulo thrives in sunnier locations.
The fruit is a large berry
, green when unripe, ripening to yellow or yellow-orange. The orange or yellow flesh is filled with an abundance of small seeds. The fruit is covered with hairs which detach when the fruit has ripened. Some botanists consider the pseudolulo to be worthy of investigation as an agricultural fruit plant.
, S. pseudolulo is a part of the leptostemonum clade. Within this clade, S. pseudolulo belongs to the Lasiocarpa clade. Other species within this clade include: S. candidum, S. hyporhodium, S. lasiocarpum, S. felinum, S. quitoense, S. repandum and S. vestissimum. Specimens of each of these species are often spiny, covered in short hairs, and share a similar leaf shape; many of them bear edible fruit, and hybrids between species are possible.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
from northwestern South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The pseudolulo is a large herbaceous plant or a small shrub, with heart-shaped leaves. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered in short hairs, and the entire plant is often covered in sharp spines.
Occasionally known as lulo de perro, the pseudolulo bears edible fruit, but is rarely cultivated. Instead, the plant proliferates as a weedy species at medium-altitude locations in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. The fruit is generally regarded as inferior to the true lulo - naranjilla
Naranjilla
Solanum quitoense, known as naranjilla |orange]]") in Ecuador and as lulo in Colombia, is a subtropical perennial plant from northwestern South America. The specific name for this species of nightshade means "from Quito."...
- but the fruit is occasionally sold in markets, and the plant is generally tolerated as a garden intruder. Unlike the lulo/naranjilla, the pseudolulo thrives in sunnier locations.
The fruit is a large berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
, green when unripe, ripening to yellow or yellow-orange. The orange or yellow flesh is filled with an abundance of small seeds. The fruit is covered with hairs which detach when the fruit has ripened. Some botanists consider the pseudolulo to be worthy of investigation as an agricultural fruit plant.
Classification
Within the genus SolanumSolanum
Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon or Cyphomandra are...
, S. pseudolulo is a part of the leptostemonum clade. Within this clade, S. pseudolulo belongs to the Lasiocarpa clade. Other species within this clade include: S. candidum, S. hyporhodium, S. lasiocarpum, S. felinum, S. quitoense, S. repandum and S. vestissimum. Specimens of each of these species are often spiny, covered in short hairs, and share a similar leaf shape; many of them bear edible fruit, and hybrids between species are possible.