Solanum aculeastrum yellow gifappeltjies

The poisonous fruit of Solanum aculeastrum is almost spherical and fleshy, between 4 cm and 5 cm in diameter. These fruits start off green and sometimes warty as in other photos presented in this Album, or smooth and turning yellow later, eventually brown or black.

These fruits have been used by farmers for treating ringworm in cattle and horses. They have also served in traditional medicine for treating rheumatism.

The flowers of S. aculeastrum grow in flat, axillary clusters of up to ten flowers each, arriving in spring and summer. The flower colour is pale mauve to nearly white. The five corolla lobes are narrow and strap-like, spreading to 2,5 cm across (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997).