Solanum aviculare

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Height:	⇕	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 12 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 12.
Width:	⇔	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 12 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 12.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Poisonous:	☠	can be toxic

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	part-sun
Features:	✓	evergreen, flowers
USDA Zones:		9 to 11
Flower features:	❀	blue, purple

Scientific Names

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Solanum aviculare, commonly called Poroporo (New Zealand) or Kangaroo Apple (Australia), is a soft-wooded shrub native to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.

It can grow up to 12 feet tall (4 meters). The leaves are, 8–30 cm long, lobed or entire, with any lobes being 1–10 cm long.

Its hermaphroditic (having both male and female organs) flowers are white, mauve to blue-violet, 25–40 mm wide, and are followed by poisonous berries 10–15 mm wide, orange-red to scarlet.

Read about Solanum aviculare in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Solanum aviculare, Forst. (S. laciniatum, Ait.). A leafy unarmed soft-wooded glabrous shrub 4-8 ft. high, with spreading branches, smooth or marked with raised lines decurrent from the petioles: lvs. variable in size and shape, 4-12 in. long or sometimes even longer, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, entire or irregularly pinnatifid and the lobes linear or lanceolate and acute: fls. in cymose clusters in the axils of the upper lvs. or lateral; calyx-lobes broad and obtuse, with an abrupt point; corolla violet, 3/4-l in. diam., the lobes short and broad: fr. a broad ovoid edible berry 3/4-l in. long, yellowish. New Zeal.; also common in many parts of Austral., Tasmania, and in Norfolk Isl. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Varieties

There is some uncertainty whether S. aviculare and S. laciniatum are one or two species. S. aviculare has lighter flowers and is found in the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand, while S. laciniatum has darker purple flowers and is found south of Auckland.

In addition to this and the junior synonyms cited above, two varieties of S. aviculare have been named, but they are not considered taxonomically distinct anymore:

• Solanum aviculare var. albiflorum Cheeseman
• Solanum aviculare var. latifolium G.T.S.Baylis

Gallery

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External links

• w:Solanum aviculare. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Solanum aviculare QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)