[Cow's Udder Plant, Nipple Fruit, Lady Nipples, Five-finger Fruit,
Macaw Bush, Titty Fruit, Apple of Sodom, Nipple Nightshade, 乳茄, 五代同堂, 五指茄, 真奇之果]
Origin: Mexico, Carribean, Tropical South America
Perennial herbaceous shrub, sometimes used as annual. Grows up to 1.8m tall and somewhat coarse-looking. Stems densely covered with fine glandular hairs, and may have thorns.Leaves broadly-lobed, velvety, armed with spiny recurved prickles on major veins on upper and lower surface. Flowers star-shaped, with furry purple petals and yellow centres, produced in clusters of 3 to 4. Fruits are pear-shaped berries with nipple-like protrusions and spongy white mesocarp, ripen from green to yellow to orange, contain numerous reddish-brown to dark brown flattened seeds covered with purplish mucilage.Usually grown for unusual ornamental fruits, which are toxic if ingested. Pefers well-drained soils rich in organic matter. Propagate by seeds or cuttings.
Branches of ripe fruits used in floral arrangements. Mucilaginous fruit sap may be used as natural detergent. Fruits also used as cockroach poison and repellent against leaf cutter ants.Fruits symbolize good luck and often used as festive decor during Lunar New Year. Also used as religious offering in Taiwan.Ripe fruits used medicinally in homeopathic remedies, and said to be effective against skin diseases like athlete's foot and to soothe nervousness and irritability.
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