To those of us living with plants it is always a source of amazement that eggplants are so little known. Asian and African consumers know theirs well but are less familiar with the Asian or Western types. Westerners are equally ignorant of the richness found in Asia and Africa. It is even arguable that they are not aware of the rich diversity available within the most popular species Solanum melongena L. that could be available on the market place.
This is understandable because apart from the large purple fruit that everyone knows, very little else is seen in market stalls or on the supermarket shelves. This is not confined to eggplants, it applies to every crop grown and distributed via the market place which, despite the "global village" and the "global market" concepts, remains a market of rather narrow minded traders and consumers. This may be enough to meet the needs of the best known recipes of the Western world such as the Greek “moussaka”, the Middle Eastern “baba ghanoush” and “imam bayaldi”, the French “ratatouille”, and the Sicilian “caponata”. But what if one wants to cook “nkwi” or "แกงไทย" (Thai curry)?
Some seed companies go to great lengths to make available to their customers a wide range of cultivars (cultivated varieties), but unless people grow the plants, they are not likely to come across some of the most beautiful eggplants available on this planet.

This brilliant display encompasses most of the shapes and colours (but not all) available in the world. The species and mostly the cultivar names will vary greatly in the market place but the basic array will be found. These fruits from open-pollinated varieties were all grown by David during his gardening days with the Seed Savers Exchange USA. Most are still preserved and offered by this organization < http://www.seedsavers.org/Items.aspx?hierId=28 >. It is also possible to find seeds of hybrid forms of all these. We are not fans of hybrids but during a lack of O.P. cultivars they can fulfil a need. They can also be useful if they have been bred to resist specific climatic conditions or some diseases. We do not see the need at all for genetically modified varieties however. Who would, given the broad spectrum covered in this article? It would take the average gardener a lifetime to grow and cook them all in the various ways they are meant to be prepared. The Tomato Growers Seed Supply Company offers probably the widest range of cultivars (mostly the hybrid forms) available in the world from a single source via a beautiful gallery < http://www.tomatogrowers.com/eggplant.htm > with high quality photos (check the large sizes).
The main difference between the western types of eggplants and the African or Asian is that the first are well and truly domesticated, some would argue too much manipulated and hybridised if not yet genetically manipulated. The Asian and African eggplants are much less domesticated for the most part and are either close to their wild relatives or just plain wild plants such as the pea eggplant from Uganda or the hairy-fruited pea eggplant from Thailand.

African eggplants are not so diverse in shapes or even sizes but their glossy-skinned fruits can be found striped, multi-coloured, or in many shades of white, cream, yellow, green, lime, orange, pink, red, plum, burgundy, lavender, violet, purple, and dusky black. The red-fruited varieties are the favorite in most of the non-African world. All these colours are developing on mature mostly inedible fruits. Generally in order to be edible the fruits are better picked at an early stage of development, even more so than is the case with western types of eggplants.Apart from a source of food eggplants in general, African eggplants in particular, are also used for medicinal purposes in both a traditional and modern sense. Targeted diseases are, among others, diabetes, bronchitis, asthma, dysuria, dysentery, etc.

The best known African eggplants are the miniature pumpkin-shaped so called "African scarlet eggplant" and the Brazilian Jiló.
They both, together with other groups, come under the domesticated species Solanum aethiopicum L., a species with a rich history. The ancestor of this species was the wild Solanum anguivi Lam. Natural evolution and people influences helping, via the semi-domesticated Solanum distichum Schumach & Thonn. found in gardens of Tropical Africa, Solanum aethiopicum L. was born. Following further adaptation to different conditions and responding to various cultural practices, such as selection for leaves as opposed to selection for fruits, the many groups were formed. One group has found its way to Brazil via the slave trade. Today Brazilians enjoy it under the name of Jiló or Jinjilo. It belongs to the Gilo Group, composed mostly of plants with elongated fruits such as those below. Cultivars of a superior quality have yet to be identified and / or developed. One of the bodies leading the search and the research for the ultimate varieties is the African branch of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC).

Within the Gilo Group we find ribbed or smooth fruits, either with white, pale-green, dark-green, striped or purple skin. Cultivars on the market are shown in the following table.

'Brazilian Oval Orange', 'Jilo Tingua Verde Claro' (both from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds), and 'Comprido Verde Claro' are all suitable for Brazilian cuisine. Some similar looking cultivars such as "Striped Tioga" are listed under Solanum melongena L. in various catalogues. ‘Sodefel’ is a cultivar from the Ivory Coast.

Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)

Reproduced with permission from the copyright owner: Veronica Sullivan

Plants of this group can be found in catalogues under the synonym "Orange African eggplant". It is often treated as an ornamental in the West because it is strikingly beautiful but also because from a culinary perspective it does not meet the taste of every westerner. Much of the negative feelings towards it are based on ignorance of the basic preparation. The fruits are best picked green, before they start colouring and developing seeds - a general rule applying to all eggplants.
According to the trade there are some sweet cultivars such as 'Red Ruffles' and some bitter cultivars such as 'Turkish Orange' but in fact they probably both can be either sweet or bitter depending on the growing conditions and the picking time. There is a cultivar called 'Black Stream' with black stems and red or orange fruits which is grown as an ornamental in France.
Some edible cultivars are grown for their leaves 'Gbogname' may be one of them (see below), others for their fruits such as 'Red Ruffled' aka 'Hmong Red', 'Red China' aka 'Scarlet Chinese', 'Turkish Orange' , 'Goyo Kumba' and yet others for both.
Unlike the pretty fruits in the photo above many edible African eggplants are not so attractive and look more like the fruits below:

Some popular African cultivars selected and grown for their fruits are: 'Soxna' ( Senegal - no detail on hand), ‘Dwomo’ (Ghana - egg type of fruit) ‘Ndrowa’ (non bitter yellowish- green fruits), ‘Ngalam’ (slightly bitter green to white fruits), 'Ngoyo' (bitter dark-green fruits), ‘Jaxatu Soxna’ (bitter pale-green to white fruits). These may be available from the sources mentioned in the table below or The African Seed Trade Association.

The cultivars within this group are grown for their leaves. The little bite-size fruits although edible when ripe are often neglected. The cultivar 'Gbogname' may belong to this group. It is an ancient vegetable from Togo, West Africa. Its young green leaves are cooked but the green and yellow bitter fruits are ignored.

This is a group of plants with fruits twice as large as those of the Shum type but totally neglected from the culinary point of view. One wonders if their spiny leaves and stems are a consequence of the neglect or the cause of it. They can be grown as ornamentals or used as root stock for tomatoes and eggplants. ‘Iizuka’ has been selected in Japan for this purpose.

Photo

< http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/protabase/Photfile%20Images%5CSolanum%20anguivi%20178b%20RRS.jpg >.
Photo credits R. R. Schippers
(permission sought 20/04/2009)

As a semi-domesticated species it offers a great variation in the plants, flowers and fruits numbers, sizes, colours etc. Worth noting is the Ouganda Pea eggplant. The bitter pea-size green fruits are eaten in various ways fresh or dried. In Cameroun they are a vital ingredient of a dish called “nkwi”. They are either picked from the wild plants or grown / tolerated on farms and gardens. In Africa or for African people elsewhere having access to them they are the equivalent to the Asian pea eggplant Solanum torvum L.

Photo

Other cultivars with unknown taxonomy 'Cookstown Orange' (description sounds similar to 'Turkish Orange'), 'Sweet African Orange' (possibly from the Gilo Group) eaten when white, turning orange red later.

From the seed saver perspective the first thing to keep in mind is that these plants are tropical. The second is that all the plants from all species named above can cross with each other, produce fertile seeds and therefore in the right conditions can become weeds. Similarly in non-tropical settings it will be equally important to avoid cross-pollination by isolating in the usual manners: distance, netting, bagging, spaced flowering if possible etc. This is not to avoid propagating weeds but to conserve cultivars true to type as much as possible.

This is also known as the "African eggplant". A better hybridised name is "Gboma eggplant" based on its correct African name Gboma. One could say of this species also that it is semi-domesticated. As such it still has great variations in its growth habit, fruit sizes etc. It is one of the semi-wild species showing the greatest potential for hybridising. The main reason is that its great diversity could be developed in many directions. The second is that its natural resistance to bugs and diseases could improve weaker varieties of the main domesticated species Solanum aethiopicum L. and mostly Solanum melongena L.

When cultivated, varieties are selected for their fruits, usually the thin skinned are preferred, or their leaves. Both fruits and leaves are bitter and most need to be consumed locally. This can only be an advantage from the ecological viewpoint - no storage - no transport to the other side of the world. If the rest of the world wants it, it has to grow it or does it? Despite the ordinary quality of the crop some enterprising countries have managed to develop some thick-skinned fruits that will store and travel. Senegal and Ouganda export to France (the Chateau Rouge market and surrounding shops in the heart of Paris would be a first port of call), San Domingo and Surinam export to the USA. Not a promotion of the best that Africa has to offer but a back door entry for planting material for seed savers and enterprising horticulturists. One cultivar called 'Gbokouman', from The Southern Ivory Coast, is reported within this species, but little is known about it..

African cultivars on the world market

This is not a print publication but a live interactive guide. Comments are very welcome
send mail to m.porcher@unimelb.edu.au

Botanical identification

Cultivar name / Vernacular name

Descriptive info

Photo if available

Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Comprido Cachoeira '	Elongated fruits vary from 20 to 50g per fruit.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Tinguá' aka 'Tingua Verde Claro' aka ' Jiló Tinguá Verde Claro'	Plant is heavy yielder. Fruits consumed green, mature to orange and red. From Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro Available : Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Kokopelli
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Morro Grande Verde-Escuro' aka 'Dark Green Morro Grande'	Dark-green larger round or oblong fruits 6 - 7 cm diameter, 80 - 100 g . From São Paulo. Available : ISLA, SAKATA Seed Sudamerica Ltda.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Morro Rodondo'	Bitter round dark-green fruits about 1/4 of the size of a medium size eggplant. From São Paulo. Available : Possibly from Johnny's Selected Seeds.	Copyrights Maria Moreira
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Comprido verde claro ' aka ' Comridio verde ' (misspelt)	Tear-drop light green fruit about 1/4 of the size of a medium size eggplant. From Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro & Espirito Santo. Available : Possibly from Johnny's Selected Seeds.	Copyrights Maria Moreira
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Comprido Grande Rio '	8 -10 cm thick fruits 80 - 100 g. Elongated form of Verde Claro from Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro. Available : SAKATA Seed Sudamerica Ltda.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Português'	8 -10 cm thick fruits 80 - 100 g. From Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro. Available : SAKATA Seed Sudamerica Ltda.	Similar to 'Comprido Verde Claro'
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	‘Sweet African Egg’ aka 'Sweet African Orange'	4 inches (10 cm) oval or round fruits maturing from white to shiny orange-red. 90 days 2.5' on plants 2.5 feet (76 cm) tall. Available : Terroir Seeds LLC.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (? Group)	‘Turkish Orange’ aka 'Italian Orange' Probably not a true synonym	Orange spherical fruits, 6 cm in diameter to tennis-ball size (2.5 to 3 inches). "Excellent sweet taste" to "Bitter taste" depending on picking time. 80 days to 90 days. 4 foot plants bear 15-25 fruits per plant. Available : Reimer Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Seeds of Change, Chiltern Seeds, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Diggers Seeds Aust., Kokopelli.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (? Group)	‘Sweet Red’ aka 'Sweet Orange'	small, attractive fruits, about 2.5 cm in diameter, with the green skin with dark-green stripes, turning red with dark-red stripes at maturity, Available : no known source.	Seems to have disappeared. We could no longer find it on the market.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘Small Ruffled Red’	small, deeply creased fruits, about 5 cm in diameter, with orange-red skin, 2" fruits are borne in clusters on 20" plants. Fruits are bitter, but used extensively in Asian cuisine. Available : Seed Savers Exchange.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (? Group)	'Melanzana Rossa di Rotonda' aka 'Merlingiana a Pummadora' aka 'Italian Orange'	Brought from Africa and grown since the late1800's in Rotonda - Italy and claimed with justification as an Italian Heirloom. Available : Italian private growers.
Solanum macrocarpon L. (Mukono Group)	‘Mukono’
Solanum macrocarpon L. (Nabingo Group)	‘Nabingo’
Solanum macrocarpon L. (Uganda Group)	‘Uganda Pea’	Tiny pea size white to green fruits.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (? Group)	‘Manyire Green’	Round, green ripening to red fruits. From East Africa.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (? Group)	‘Tengeru White’	Round, half green, half white fruits.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘Jaxatu Soxna’	Light green to white, 50-80 g, from Senegal. Available : possibly Technisem
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘N’Goyo’	Bitter dark-green fruits, variable in size according to conditions. 70-120 g. 60 80 days. Available : Technisem, Graines Baumaux
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘N’Galam’	Slightly bitter Light-green to white fruits, variable in size according to conditions.120-180 g. 65 - 75 days. Available : Technisem
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	‘Sodefel’	A cultivar from the Ivory Coast.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	'Brazilian Oval Orange'	Available : Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	'Red Ruffled' aka 'Hmong Red'
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	'Goyo Kumba'	Available : Kokopelli
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	'Red China' aka 'Scarlet Chinese'	Available : Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (seeds), Cross Country Nurseries (seedlings)
Solanum aethiopicum L. (? Group)	'Red Skin'	Available : Eden Seeds
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	'Gbogname'	A variety grown for its leaves.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘N’Drowa’	Non bitter yellowish- green slightly ribbed fruits on very vigorous plants. 55 - 60 days. Available : Technisem
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘Dwomo’	Egg-shaped fruits. From Ghana.
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘Super N'Drowa’	Sweet ivory-white round fruits on very vigorous plants. 55 - 60 days. Available : Technisem
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Gilo Group)	‘Red Egg’	Available : Graines Baumaux
Solanum aethiopicum L. (Kumba Group)	‘N’Drowa Issia’	Sweet fruits 5 cm diameter 70 - 80 g. From Ivory Coast. Available : Graines Baumaux

Note on the following companies.
A number of those are part of complex corporate structures and are difficult to contact directly. The main address that we give below is a starting point. We are not sponsored by any of those companies nor do we receive any favour from them apart from the odd catalogue photo. It would be nice to be able to link directly to a gallery or a photo or a description but this is sometimes impossible and practice has taught us that these links never last long anyway because online catalogues are updated every 6 or 12 months. The seed sources likely to carry Open Pollinated / bio ag. friendly cultivars are marked O.P., Others are more likely to carry some hybrids but they may have also some organic sections such as Graines Baumaux.

Australian Free Seed Ring < http://www.seedring.org/ >.O.P.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds < http://rareseeds.com/ >.O.P.

Chiltern Seeds < http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/ >.

Cross Country Nurseries (seedlings) < http://www.chileplants.com/search.asp?CategoryID=7&ImageHeader=eggplants&SearchButton=Go >.

Diggers Seeds Aust.< https://secure.diggersgardenclub.com.au/ >.O.P.

Graines Baumaux < http://www.graines-baumaux.fr/ >.

ISLA Sementes Ltda. < http://isla.com.br/cgi-bin/artigo.cgi?id_artigo=320;lang=en >.

Johnny's Selected Seeds. < http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ >.O.P.

Kokopelli < http://www.kokopelli.asso.fr/boutic/index-en.html >.O.P.

Reimer Seeds < http://www.reimerseeds.com/ >.

SAKATA Seed Sudamerica Ltda < http://www.sakata.com.br/ >.

Seed Exchange, < http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/1602632706 >.O.P.

Seeds of Change < http://www.seedsofchange.com/ >.

Seed Savers Exchange < http://www.seedsavers.org/ >.O.P.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange < http://www.southernexposure.com/index.html >.O.P.

Technisem < http://technisem.com/index.php?m=13&lang=en&rub=2&opt=2 >.

Terroir Seeds LLC. this address proved impossible to confirm.

Asian species and types

Asian eggplants have representatives in these better known species: Solanum melongena L. , Solanum torvum Sw. , Solanum ferox L. Other mostly wild species are used both as sources of food and medicinal plants.

There is an abundance of cultivars of all sizes, shapes and colours among the Asian eggplants, far greater than among Western types. Here are a few examples to make your salivate:

Photo

Curiously this Central / South American species, common garden plant in the Caribbean, is better known in Asia and here in Australia is always referred to as an Asian vegetable or "Thai pea eggplant". This is due to the efforts of the Thai horticultural community which has developed and promoted locally as well as abroad some improved cultivars. Elsewhere it tends to be considered as a weed even as a noxious weed due to its ability to self seed. In marketing terms, in some parts of Africa it is becoming a rival to the Ouganda pea eggplant. Health authorities warned that if it became too popular and were eaten in large quantities it could lead to health problems. That could probably be said of most wild, semi-wild and even some domesticated varieties of Solanum, including the humble potato, given specific circumstances such as a greening of the tubers. The main offender being the poisonous solanine content of these plants. Certainly livestock have been poisoned by eating some of these plants.
Generally speaking clusters of immature green fruits rather than individual fruits are picked when they reach pea- size or cherry- size, depending on cultivars. Some catalogues offer varieties without prickles, some sweet-fruited cultivars and seeds for rootstock production.
One probably would have to look through the hybrids for really improved large and / or sweet fruits and for prickles plants. The East-West Seed Group < http://www.eastwestseed.com/product_family.asp?comid=1 > carry some in stock. 'Kermit' (photo below) is the best known of this type although it is always advertised as a Solanum melongena L. cultivar. Perhaps this is because it is a hybrid having S. melongena parentage. I would welcome advice on this.

Photo

There is a "cultivar" in Togo called 'Gboma' but this being the common African name for many eggplant types it is really misleading.

Solanum ferox L. (Sinkade Group)
This group seems to be composed mainly of plants from Burma (now called Myanmar). As one would expect there is a cultivar called 'Sinkade' with larger cherry-sized fruits.

Some of the widest ranges of Asian eggplants are to be found in the following galleries:

Finally ...

Agnieszka Sękara, Stanisław Cebula, Edward Kunicki, 2007, Cultivated eggplants – origin, breeding objectives and genetic resources, a review. FOLIA HORTICULTURAE Ann. 19/1, 2007, 97-114. Department of Vegetable Crops Agricultural University in Kraków, Poland. < http://www.ptno.ogr.ar.krakow.pl/Pobrania/download.php?action=save&id=197& cat=fh19012007 >. PDF file. *****