NaranjillaSolanum quitoense
(so-LAN-num) (kee-toh-EN-see)
Synonyms: Lulo, Quito Orange, Golden Fruit of the Andes, Bed of Nails, Solanum angulatum
Having never seen this plant before my trip to the Bartlett Arboretum before I had to look it up. Since it was planted amongst the tropical plant display I figured it was tender and that was correct (Zone 10). I didn’t know they produced an edible tropical fruit known as the Naranjilla or the ‘little orange’, which refers to the color of the fruit when ripe; not the citrus type of orange. This member of the Nightshade family is mostly a South American native comes in two different types. the spiny wild version and the smooth cultivated type. Cultivation has spread around the Caribbean, Central America and to Hawaii and Florida.
It wasn’t fruiting when I took these pictures in October. I read that it is very difficult to get it to fruit in the temperate latitudes. You can grow it indoors and enjoy the purple hairs the new foliage gets. The leaves are attractive when they mature also.
