Solanum aculeastrum subsp. aculeastrum

Solanum aculeastrum subsp. aculeastrum, the goat bitter-apple, is a prickly shrub or small tree of up to 5 m in height (SA Tree List No. 669.3). Whether goats nibble the poisonous fruit is not known; but common plant names given by local communities persist for a reason. Another common name for the plant, soda apple, is possibly derived from Sodom apple, a name bandied about for a few of the Solanum species.

The distribution of S. aculeastrum subsp. aculeastrum is partly coastal in a swathe from Bredasdorp to the Transkei and inland across KwaZulu-Natal to the eastern parts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

The habitat is bushveld on grassy slopes, forest margins, sometimes associated with damp spots and disturbed land such as roadsides. Dense stands of the tree are sometimes seen, often near places of human habitation. The subspecies is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 2002; http://redlist.sanbi.org).