In nature when you see something like this, it seems like it is saying "beware of me, don't come near me"! I thought maybe insects want to eat it, maybe it tastes so good for them! Thorns are their defense mechanism.
Then i try to google for it but don't know where to start. Then i thought maybe it is a member of the eggplant family because the leaves look like them, or potatoes. The flowers also resemble eggplants and tomatoes. So i started with "solanum plants", exactly it is there. So, i realized why it has the common names, nipple fruit, cow udder, titty plant or Apple of Sodom. The tip of the fruit looks like a nipple, while the other end looks like a cow's udder. Hmm, what's in a name! There are medicinal uses for the fruits, says Wikipedia, but who cares. It is just beautiful and unusual. 
The scientific name is Solanum mammosum. Also, i found that it is a very poisonous plant. So, i realized again that the thorns are warnings for humans and animals. "Dont eat me, i might kill you". How nature works! It literally wards off everything coming near it. But the photographer is not afraid, anyway the camera will not harm you, nor will you be able to harm me. I am awed by these coincidences, who will say it is creation....or evolution!!!
Hello, Stephanie of Steph's Green Space, i know you will like this because you are a collector of the unusual but beautiful.
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Hello Andrea,
ReplyDeleteA very unusual plant....we have a plant with purple flowers from the genus Solanum, but no thorns :^)
Andrea! thanks!! You have made me feel very good ha, ha... Oh,btw I am just a normal gardener so I am really humbled by your kind words ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis plant is really unusual. I saw pics of it before but I couldn't recall if I have seen a real one here. The fruit is definitely unusual. It looks pretty strange/weird also. I would have thought that it is one of those egg plant ;-) Anyway, you made a good discovery.
Andrea, Yay! You have strike the Jackpot for me. I have been trying to get the name of this plant. It is an auspicious plant for chinese new year. Now, I can publish my post and link to you.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, you may need to check your link again. There's an error when I click on it.
Hi Noelle, yes i think it is the only Solanum with thorns. Solanum melongena or eggplant is free, Solanum tuberosum or potato is free also. Thanks for the visit.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, of course i want my friends to feel very good in whatever way i can. If you will come over, i will give you the plant, haha. Yes that is what i felt too, i discovered something.
For Autumn Belle, who doesn't forget to give advice and is teaching me a lot of things, thanks again. As usual, haha, i am in a hurry so did not check the link. Actually, i always have difficult time putting those magic words as <a href=", etc. which at publication gives me word as cannot be published as there is an error. So i will go to the edit mode and find the wrong letters or symbols, so this makes it so tiring. Sometimes the html mode doesn't open until i got tired and delete the whole paragraph to retype again. hahaha. It made me more passionate to post more.
Why is this plant auspicious? There are lots of thorns, i wonder! Besides, it is poisonous, so why auspicious???
Autumn Belle, i am waiting for your post. The link for the Sci name is already working. haha. Peace be with us all. If only the people out there are like us, there will be no wars anymore!
ReplyDeleteI have seen this fruit & stalk in the dental Hospital used as a decoration in a jar.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at it, I thought it was a plastic thing but later realised that its a real deal.
Again, I thought that it was a gourd, only now I know from your post.
It really is unique and different. I am fascinated by the tropics but sadly know nothing of them. It must be a true paradise year round and all those flowers and fruit are a bonus:)
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea - I just thought that might be poisonous - fascinating plant and thankyou for sharing such wonderful pictures......... and since you asked I say its creation rather than evolution - but you probably would not be surprised by that considering all the creation links on my blog. Thanks for visiting my blog Rosie
ReplyDeleteWhat a strange looking fruit. I have never seen this one before...
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea, thanks for visiting my blog Gardening for Nature and leaving a comment. I have never seen a plant like this before, it is so cool looking, and the fruits look very interesting. I learned something new from you today.
ReplyDeleteKathy
Hi James, it actually is an eggplant rather than a gourd, haha!
ReplyDeleteYes Tina, you will not be bored in the tropics, that's why the word biodiversity is created. Thanks for the visit, and during your winters, please see more posts in my archive where more colors are stored.
Thanks Rosie of LnB, i discern that from your posts, i believe that too. God bless.
Thanks also Skeeter and Gardening Angel. You're welcome and please drop me some lines again. God bless
Andrea, thaks for visiting my blog and for the kind comments. What an unusual plant-very different from anything I have ever seen. But I like it. :) Glad you shared it and all the info with us.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to seeing more of your posts-great photos and very interesting.
What an interesting plant. I guess it's a good thing those thorns are there, otherwise those fruits look very tempting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog, and yes I will post the Pulmonaria when it flowers, they are really pretty.
What unusual plants, indeed! The funny thing about them is that the fruits look like little squash or cucurbits on the plant. I'm always fascinated by both the common and the botanical names of plants, most of which tell a story of some sort, and this is no exception.
ReplyDeleteThe shape of fruit is very interesting and unusual.
ReplyDeleteHello Andrea, thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your comment. I am glad you enjoyed your visit. Yes, we try to relax during winter, but I am a spring/summer/fall person. I could do well without it. Like you I enjoy visiting other blogs, especially those of writers far away from my part of the world. I cannot imagine living somewhere, where there is always something blooming. Keep coming back, I will put you in my favorites to make sure, I won't forget you. Best wishes from Germany, Andrea
ReplyDeleteMy best wishes for you Becky, Catherine, Jodi, Birdy and my namesake Andrea.
ReplyDeleteI am elated with your comments and appreciation, and the promise that your are coming back. I think it is only Birdy who hasn't been into deep winter, so you feel warmer now i suppose! Njoy your day.
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog - you are right, the brightness of summer lives here! Beautiful blog!
Hi Andrea,your post was most fascinating! What a strange plant. I don't think I've ever come across leaves with thorns! And the shape of the fruit is unique too. We do have some varieties of eggplant with thorns but the nipple plant must be one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteI checked out your last post and loved the hibiscus photos. It never ceases to amaze me when I come across the many different varieties. Very pretty!
This certainly is an unusual plant! I've never seen anything like this before. The last photo really shows how the fruit looks like a cow's udder. Good thing it does have thorns or people might be tempted to pick this and eat it just out of curiosity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog--nice to meet you!
beautiful and amazing. Nature does have her ways.
ReplyDeleteinteresting how you deduced the name of this plant. I first saw it over on autumn belle's blog . I've never seen one and I guess I never will unless I go back to the tropics.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, My post today is dedicated to you. Wow wee! You are so popular now, yay yay yay, :P
ReplyDeleteThis is to thank again the commenters here i have not included in the first and 2nd "thank you messages".
ReplyDeleteFor Ms. S., Kanak, Rose, Teresa and Melanie, TYVM for your visit and kind words. Yes Melanie, i was able to deduce the name because the leaf looks like eggplant or Solanum. That was the lead. It was kind of inspiring when we get to something close and then 'Eureka', got it!
Of course, my beloved Autumn Belle (this is the first time i call you beloved), i remember you call yourself my "Big Sister" because you adopted my site even before Jodi sprouted the IDEA! haha. Your efforts plus my efforts of visiting other blogs i found mostly from yours are productive. Many people already see my posts and photos. Maybe i can hibernate again from blogging and resurrect my flickr. hehe.
hi can i ask where i can get this plant. solanum mammosum, thanks i need it badly
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