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If I have the identification right, this comes originally from new South Wales and Victoria in Australia.
I am not quite sure how it came to me. A couple of years ago a strange seedling came up in a pot.
This is the second generation that has come up by accident (and I have given it away, so I may not see another).
It makes a rather ungainly shrub that would probably be killed in cold winters, though it may regenerate from the roots. Solanum laciniatum is very similar. Many years ago my accountant grew some seed on her windowsill and gave one to me. Vigorous, purple, poisonous, I grew it for a year or two and exhausted my interest though I have seen it growing well in the south east, where it enjoys reliably warm summers. Pan Global Plants say: "The 'Mountain Kangaroo Apple' from SE Australia, where it apparently inhabits shady woodlands. An evergreen shrub with very narrow foliage, bearing flat, round, deep-purple flowers for a very long period from May onwards. These are complimented by golden-orange egg-shaped fruits, once eaten by Aborigines. " Iwona and Wojtek Ziolkowska say on their website: "S. linaearifolium (Mountain Kangaroo Apple) has narrower leaves than other species. Its flowers are dark blue and fruits pale yellow with large purple spot on the side which is in the sun. It is also native to south-east of Australia. The fruits are delicious after boiling. In raw state they have odd taste." |
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