Solanum linnaeanum

Solanum linnaeanum, the apple of Sodom, devil’s apple, or in Afrikaans the bitterappel (bitter apple) or gifappel (poison apple), has certainly made an impression on people, judging from its list of derogatory names. In contrast, its specific epithet of linnaeanum is illustrious: it honours Carl Linnaeus, the eighteenth century Swedish botanist who laid the foundations of the binomial biological naming scheme used worldwide today. (Nightshade and apple of Sodom are names shared with several other species of the Solanum genus.)

The plant is a prickly shrub that grows to 1 m. The prickles that become 1,2 cm long and yellow, pale green or reddish in colour, are straight and sharp.

The species grows in a broad coastal strip from the Western Cape to KwaZulu-Natal. It is found on rocky slopes and flats, as well as on disturbed or poorly managed land. Where alien plant clearing left fynbos veld bare near Gansbaai, this species invaded (Manning, 2007; Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010; iSpot).