Mystery plant

 Last spring a strange plant appeared in our vegetable garden.  It had large
furry leaves, and grew very rapidly.  I was intrigued, so I left there to see
what would happen.  It is now a very substantial plant -- more than two metres
high -- and has developed a number of heads of solanum type flowers.  You can
see some photos of it at: http://www.corybas.com/Technical/Mystery_plant.htm

It reminds me rather of tobacco, but a Greek friend tells us that it is a type
of eggplant, and that if we had had it grafted we would have an ample supply of
eggplants.

Can anyone cast any further light on what it is?


James McNangle

 On Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:21:37 +1000, James McNangle


I'm afraid you are not going to get any eggplants. I think the plant
is the South American weed Solanum mauritianum or woolly nightshade.

http://www.ebop.govt.nz/weeds/Weed226.asp

 

Thanks, Len & Richard.  I'll pull it out before it sets seed.  Apparently some
Greek gardeners have found a way to graft egg plant branches to it, with good
results, though.


James McNangle

 James McNangle wrote:

Well, you could see how that'd work. Same family, but it's got a good strong
woody base. Eggplants are a nuisence as they need really warm soil to get
going, a long growing season,and sometimes can't handle the weight of their
fruit. So this grafting gig would improve a lot of htings.


--
ant

 there ya go james,

have some fun try grafting yourself you could graft capsicum or tamato
onto it as well, wouldn't worry about it setting seed it's not likely
to go rampant unless you allow it to.


On Sat, 22 Jul 2006 10:22:50 +1000, James McNangle
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com