Skip to main content

Cockroach berry (Solanum capsicoides)

Dlium Cockroach berry (Solanum capsicoides)

Cockroach berry (Solanum capsicoides) is a plant species in the Solanaceae, low shrub, stems and leaves have thorns, white star flowers, round fruit, grows in forests, agricultural land and roadsides.

S. capsicoides has cylindrical stems, green or reddish in color, full of large, sharp spines 1 cm long. Leaves have stalks 7 cm long. The leaves are up to 15 cm long, have a sharp tip, are green, hairy, have a large vein in the middle and many small pinnate veins, both sides have large and sharp spines.





The flowers are star-shaped, 2.5 cm wide, have stalks, five white ears, a yellow center and are cone-shaped. The fruit is perfectly spherical, young is bright green with dark streaks and when ripe it is bright red.

This species grows in forests, agricultural land, roadsides, waterways, open and shady places, solitary or in small groups. The plant contains alkaloids, solasonine, solamargine and solanine, the steroid withanolide cilistol, capsisteroids A-F. Widely used to treat coughs, relieve pain, rheumatism, toothache and nose wounds.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Solaneae
Genus: Solanum L. in Sp. Pl.: 184 (1753)
Species: Solanum capsicoides All. in Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur.: 12 (1773)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Solanum aculeatissimum var. denudatum Dunal in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 13(1): 244 (1852)
Solanum arrebenta Vell. in Fl. Flumin.: 89 (1829)
Solanum bodinieri H.Lév. & Vaniot in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 55: 206 (1908)
Solanum ciliare Willd. in Enum. Pl. Hort. Berol. 1: 237 (1809)
Solanum ciliatum Lam. in Tabl. Encycl. 2: 21 (1794)
Solanum ciliatum var. arenarium Dunal (1852)
Solanum ciliatum var. multiflorum Dunal (1852)
Solanum macowanii Fourc. in Trans. Roy. Soc. South Africa 21: 101 (1932)
Solanum pentapetaloides Roxb. in Hort. Bengal.: 17 (1814)
Solanum pentapetalum Schltdl. in Linnaea 25: 197 (1852)
Solanum sinuatifolium Vell. (1829)
Solanum sphaerocarpum Moric. in Pl. Nouv. Amér.: 31 (1837)
Solanum ungens Weinm. in Flora 4: 27 (1821)
Solanum xanthocarpum var. geoffrayi Bonati in H.Lecomte (ed.), Fl. Indo-Chine 4: 324 (1915)

PUBLICATIONS

Aubriot, X. & Knapp, S. (2022). A revision of the "spiny solanums" of Tropical Asia (Solanum, the Leptostemonum Clade, Solanaceae). PhytoKeys 198: 1-270.

Barooah, C. & Ahmed, I. (2014). Plant diversity of Assam. A checklist of Angiosperms and Gymnosperms: 1-599. Assam science technology and environment council, India.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2023). Flora of North America North of Mexico 14: 1-505. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

Hassler, M. & Muer, T. (2022). Flora Germanica: alle Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands in Text und Bild 2: 865-1712. Verlag Regionalkultur, Uberstadt-Weiher.

Hợp, V.V. (2017). Thực Vật Chí Việt Nam. Flora of Vietnam 17: 1-324. Nhà xuất bản khoa học và kỹ thuật, Hà Nội.

Liogier, A.H. (1994). Flora de la Española 6: 1-517. Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo.

Lorence, D.H. & Wagnwe, W.L. (2020). Flora of the Marquesas Islands 2: 413-1135. National Tropical Botanic Garden, Smithsonian, DRPF.

Whistler, W.A. (2022). Flora of Samoa Flowering Plants: 1-930. National Tropical Botanicl Garden. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 牛茄子 - 刺茄
Chinese (traditional): 癲茄 - 牛茄子 - 刺茄
English: Cockroach Berry, Poisonous Tomato, Devil s apple, Love apple, Red soda apple, Soda apple
Guangdong: 牛茄子 - 癲茄
Hindi: रक्त चंदन Rakthachunda
Hong Kong: 牛茄子 - 癲茄
Indonesia: Takokak kori, Ceri kori, Lanteung, Terong kori, Buah kecoa
Japanese: キンギンナスビ - ニシキハリナスビ
Java: Ceri kori, Ceri tori, Takokak kori
Macao: 牛茄子 - 癲茄
Malayalam: രക്തചുണ്ഡ
Malaysia: Terong asam hutan, terong perat, terong puyoh
Portuguese: Melancia-da-praia
Slovak: ľuľok paprikovitý
Spanish: Tomatillo de Montaña
Sunda: Terong tenang
Swedish: Guldbärsskatta
Taiwan: 刺茄 - 牛茄子 - 癲茄
Tapanuli: Lanteung

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
Web: https://www.dlium.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium

Popular Posts

Screw tree (Helicteres isora)

Screw tree ( Helicteres isora ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae family. It is a shrub or small tree, up to 8 meters tall. It has gray bark and alternate leaves, up to 22 cm long and 17 cm wide, oval in shape, with serrated edges and hairs. The flowers are red or white and reach a total length of 5.5 cm. The fruit is green when unripe, brown or gray when dry, twisted, spiral-shaped, and pointed at the tip. The seeds are black or brown, shiny, and diagonal, triangular, or rectangular. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Subfamily: Helicteroideae Tribe: Helictereae Genus: Helicteres Pluk. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) Species: Helicteres isora L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Helicteres baruensis var. ovata DC. in Prodr. 1: 476 (1824) Helicteres chrysocalyx Miq. ex Mast. in J.D.Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 1: 365 (1874) Helicteres corylifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn in Rev. Hortus Malab....

Red lip (Syzygium myrtifolium)

Pucuk merah or daun pucuk merah or red lip ( Syzygium myrtifolium ) is a plant species in the Myrtaceae, a medium tree with a cylindrical trunk and produces cambium, up to 5 meters high, bark rough and light brown, many branches and strong roots. S. myrtifolium has oval-shaped leaves, pointed tip and base, up to 7 cm long, up to 2 cm wide, a vein in the middle, flat margins, shiny surface, bright red leaf buds and will turn green over time. The flowers are compound and arranged in panicles. The flowers bloom with a stigma in the center and are white. The fruit is round and up to 1 cm in diameter, the middle of the upper surface has a depression and is shiny black when ripe. This species grows in forests, agricultural land, roadsides and abandoned lands. This tree has a root structure that goes deep into the ground and is sturdy so it is often used to rehabilitate land, prevent landslides and store water reserves. This tree has a greater ability to absorb CO2 than other types of pla...

Breng (Coldenia breng)

Breng ( Coldenia breng ) is a species of plant in the Boraginaceae family. It is a herbaceous plant that grows along the ground, with radial, cylindrical stems, red, multi-branched, alternate, and white-haired. C. breng has alternate leaves along the stem, oval to nearly round, up to 2.5 cm long, up to 1.5 cm wide, and white-haired. This plant grows in floodplains, seasonally inundated riverbanks, and drying rice fields. It thrives in sandy or silty soils and is drought-tolerant. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Boraginales Family: Boraginaceae Subfamily: Cordioideae Genus: Coldenia L. in Sp. Pl.: 125 (1753) Species: Coldenia breng Aryo Bandoro Dlium TheDlium YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium