Oct 2, 2020
Plant of the Day
Friday 2 October 2020
In the Global Growth Vegetable Garden at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Hyde Hall, Essex, UK, the tender perennial Solanum sisymbriifolium (vila-vila, sticky nightshade, red buffalo-bur, the fire-and-ice plant, litchi tomato) was being grown as an annual. This South America plant has leaves covered in sticky hairs with the stems and leaves armed with red, spiny prickles. The white or purple flowers are followed by green, spiny fruit cases that split to reveal bright red fruit which are edible. The flavour of the fruit is described as insipid, like sour cherries or even something like a tomato. The species has been trialled as a trap crop for potato cyst nematode.
Jill Raggett
