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
Labels:

Popular Posts

Sea almond (Terminalia catappa)

Ketapang or tropical almond or beach almond or talisay tree or umbrella tree or sea almond ( Terminalia catappa ) is a species of plant in the Combretaceae, a shady tree, fast growing, forming a multilevel canopy, often used as a shade tree in gardens and on roadsides. T. catappa grows large, up to 40 meters in height and up to 1.5 meters in trunk, shady canopy with branches that grow flat and terraced, young trees often look like pagodas while old and large trees often have aerial roots up to 3 meters. The leaves are scattered, mostly at the end of the twig, rounded egg upside down, 8-38 cm long, 5-19 cm wide, the tip is wide, the base is narrow, the upper surface is smooth, green but turns red if to fall out and short stalks. The flowers are small, collected near the tips of the twigs, 8-25 cm long and green-yellow in color. The flowers are not crowned, the petals have five taju, are plate or bell shaped, 4-8 mm long and are white or cream in color. Stamens in two circles and arra...
Read more

Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus)

Teki or purple nutsedge ( Cyperus rotundus ) is a species of plant in the Cyperaceae, an erect annual growing to a height of up to 140 cm, the leaves sprout in rows of three from the base to a length of 5-20 cm, ribbon-shaped, pointed tip and green in color. The inflorescence has a stalk with a triangular cross section and is green. The inflorescence has three to eight unequal spikes. The flower is bisexual, has 3 stamina and the pistil has three stigmas. The fruit is achene and triangular. Teki prefers dry places, but will tolerate moist soil and often grows in wastelands and in crop fields. Tubers are an important source of nutrition for migratory cranes. Source of carbohydrates in the tropics in times of famine. The initial stage forms a white fleshy rhizome, 25 mm long and in chains. Some of the rhizomes grow upright above the ground, then form a tuber-like structure from which new shoots and roots grow, new roots and new rhizomes grow. Other rhizomes grow horizontally or down...
Read more

Twoleaf nightshade (Solanum diphyllum)

Twoleaf nightshade ( Solanum diphyllum ) is a species of plants in Solanaceae, upright shrubs grow in shade, 1-2 m tall, rounded stems, dense, green-purple brown, short hairy, stopping cells, cornered young twigs and widely cultivated as plants decorate with bright yellow ripe fruit. S. diphyllum has leaves that are alternating, solitary or paired in twigs with generative organs. Some are stemmed for 1-1.5 cm. The leaves are oval to oblique round eggs, dynamic base, flat or wavy edges, tapered or rounded edges, 1-14.5 cm long, 0.5-4 cm wide and have short hair. Flowers facing leaves 5-25 mm long. Has a 2 mm handle, brownish purple, straight and unbranched. Hook 5-10 mm, greenish to brown and curved. The petals have five ears, resembling kupula, pale green, 1-5 mm long and short haired. Flowers have five crowns, coincide, star-shaped, yellowish white, 2-5 mm long. Has five stamens, free and facing the crown. Short and yellowish green pistil. The stigma is yellow, attached to the...
Read more