Solanum incanum L.
S. coagulans Forssk.
Eng.: Apple of Sodom, bitter apple. Ara.: Gebbein, bellaman. Tamahaq: Tikikarât, tâtâkerat.
Deciduous shrub, hermaphrodite, up to 1.5 m in height, branched from the base, densely covered by a yellowish indumentum of stellate hairs, with stems and branches with numerous uncinate spines, yellowish and glabrous. Leaves alternate, petiolate, with petiole up to 3 cm and leaf blade up to 10 × 5(6) cm, broadly ovate, subentire, undulate-repand or obtusely sinuate-lobate, with obtuse or subacute apex and asymmetrical, truncated or slightly cordate base, generally ± spiny on the underside along the midrib and lateral veins, with spines up to 8 mm, ± densely pubescent on both sides and with veins quite pronounced on the underside. Inflorescences in axillary cymes, from subsessile to shortly pedunculate, with peduncle up to 1.5(2.5) cm and 6-10 flowers, of which usually only the lower flower is fertile. Calyx campanulate, unarmed, with 5 lobes, narrowly triangular or lanceolate. Corolla with 5 fused petals, 20-25 mm in diameter, rotate, lilac, tomentose on the external side, with ovate and acute lobes. Stamens ± the same length, with anthers 5-7 mm, 1 anther slightly curved. Ovary with apex covered with stellate hairs. Fruit a berry c. 2.5 cm in diameter, globose, yellow.
Flowering:
January to May.
Fruiting:
March to August.
Habitat:
Arid, semidesert areas.
Distribution:
NE Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Pakistan and NW India. In Egypt and Sudan it is distributed along the Nile Valley and western and eastern desert areas, it has also been cited repeatedly in the region of Jebel Elba.
Observations:
In North Africa there are a further 2 spiny and shrubby species of this genus: S. linnaeanum Hepper & P.-M.L.Jaeger and (S. sodomeum auct., non L.) and S. elaeagnifolium Cav. They are easily distinguished because S. linnaeanum has a calyx densely covered with spines, as is the rest of the plant; while S. elaeagnifolium has an unarmed calyx, as in S. forskalii and S. incanum, from which it is distinguished by having much narrower leaves, with straight spines (not curved) and by having a larger corolla. S. linnaeanum is native to southern Africa and is naturalised throughout almost all the coastal areas of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. S. elaeagnifolium, is native to America (from Argentina and Chile to USA), and is naturalised in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.
Conservation status:
All species are rare but widely distributed. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.