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Solanum pyracanthos |
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| | Even the fruit is protected by thorns |
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| | Papery-purple flowers in July |
| Common name |
porcupine tomato |
| Family |
solanaceae |
| Life cycle |
tender perennial |
| Flowers |
purple (summer) |
| Size |
18-24" |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
From seed  |
germinate with bottom heat
detailed seed-starting info below
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| Seed ripens | late October |
Another spiny solanum species. This one's yellow spines emerge from all the major leaf veins. Among the most striking in the species, at least that I've grown. As you can see in the photo above, they are a favorite with flea beetles - just like their edible eggplant cousins.
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| | Striking color combination, courtesy of the shiny pink potato beetle larva contrasting with the orange spines |
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| | Star shape on the flowers' backsides |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back yard island Read the other spiny solanums in our garden One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Solanum pyracanthos
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Ty Silvia | May 03, 2008 | I was just given a Solanum Pyracanthum. It is about a foot high from the soil with about 10 leaves. I live in the desert by Palm Springs California. I was told it was grown from seed and was a native of Madagascar. I am not sure if I should plant it in the ground, leave it in a pot, and i am not sure how to care for it. Can you help?
I think it will grow well in a pot or in the ground - and it may be perennial for you. Make sure to keep it watered - I don't expect it to be particularly drought-tolerant. |
| Cindy | Jul 02, 2008 | Hi, I bought one of these plants and need to know how to take care of it.
Does it like morning sun, afternoon, or full? plant in the ground or keep it in a pot. Watering ?? If you know, could you please write me back with what you know.
Thank you much
Fellow plant lover
Main requirement is warm weather, and a decent amount of sun (a few hours of shade is OK). I've not seen them suffer from drought, but I imagine they don't like really dry conditions. Although mine go directly in the ground, a suitably sized pot should work as well. |
| Robyn | Jul 23, 2008 | I won one of these at a plant party in 2002. I now can't get rid of it, it has spread all over. the seeds germinate easily in zone 9b. |
| John Moore | Mar 03, 2009 | Born in Southern Africa, I took an interest in the wild plants.
I then moved to Australia and now I am in Ayutthaya Thailand.
In each of these countries I have discovered what I believe is one of the Solanum family, could I send a photo for possible identification??
Thanking you kindly.
Walkabout John.
Sounds interesting John - I'm sending you an email. |
| Bobaloo | Sep 15, 2009 | I just got a few of these plants and they have doubled in size now. Is so cal and I got them outside on a patio with no direct sun but in the sun all day. Now seeing white parts on some leaves and they are dying off. Too much water?
Could be. Let the top of the soil dry out before watering, that may help. |
| Heather | Mar 27, 2010 | My grandmother gave me a procupine tomato and I don't know how to care for it. I've heard stories that they can germinate so quickly they overtake gardens. I will keep mine in the pot thankyou! My question was do these plants actually produce some sort of fruit? Is the fruit editable? Thankyou for your time! There is not much information out there on these guys! |
| Mark | Mar 28, 2010 | Like Heather I am curious as to whether they are edible - the cautious side of me says no - but the need for such spines may mean something finds them tasty.
There certainly is fruit - looking like a yellow cherry tomato. I don't know if it's edible - many solanums are, of course (common eggplant being just one example), but then again, they are nightshades, and could be deadly. |
| Mark | Nov 05, 2010 | Yes, the tomato IS in fact edible,but it is a very bitter fruit. The tomato is very small, but has a LOT of flavor to it. They winter over well, but require pest control, since it is very attractive to aphids, which will draw nutrients from the plant. Being that they are a fruit (tomato) the more sun the better, that is to say, they CAN'T get too much sun, just like any other fruit. |
| Yanny | Mar 27, 2011 | How quickly do they grow?
They can be slow to get going when temperatures are still cool, and flea beetles are on the prowl. When they get the conditions they like, they really leap in early summer; on the other hand, some years I've had them in areas where moisture hasn't been so reliable, and the soil not so rich, and they've been decidedly lackluster. |
| Ed | Jun 01, 2012 | Though unrelated, the Mala Mujer looks just as evil.
And judging by what I've read, its effects on contact are rather worse than anything the solanum can muster... |
- Seed from '05 trade. Baggy 75F (100%G, 6-12d)
- Seed from '05 trade. Baggy 75F (80%G, 8-12d)
Seed from '06 garden (brown, instead of tan, seeds). Baggy 75F (36%G, 10-15d)
- Seed from '07 garden. Baggy 75F (79%G, 7-12d)
- Seed from '08 garden. Baggy 75F (9%G, 12d).
Seed from '06 garden. Baggy 75F (30%G, 11-13d)
- Seed from '08 garden. Baggy 75F (4%G, 9-11d)
In 2007 the traded batch germinated better. Perhaps my seed did not have time to properly ripen. Likewise, the 2009 seed had poor germination, in this case perhaps because it was harvested after several hard freezes.
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common mis-spellings: pyracanthum
Last modified:
March 12, 2010
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