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The eggplant is a plant of the family Solanaceae (nightshades). The fruit is commonly used in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato, potato and tobacco plant.. It is native to India.
It is a perennial but is often cultivated as an annual. The wild on wild plants is less than 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, but much larger in cultivated forms.
The fruit contains many small, soft and edible seeds, but have a bitter taste because they contain nicotinoid alkaloids, as the tobacco plant does.
Names
Scientific names: Solanum melongena
Common names: Aubergine, Melongene, Brinjal, Guinea squash
Scientific classification
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species: S. melongena
Chunks of information
Gallery
A welcome guest in the greenhouse: a ladybird on an eggplant eating away the greenflies
Eggplant seeds
See also
External links
- Eggplant Wikipedia
