Taxon:  Solanum giganteum Jacq.



Summary
Genus:
Solanum
Subgenus:
Leptostemonum
Section:
Giganteiformia
Family:
Solanaceae
Subfamily:
Solanoideae
Tribe:
Solaneae
Nomen number:
101447
Place of publication:
Collectanea 4:125.  1791 ("1790"); Icon. pl. rar. 2: t. 328.  1792 ("1786-1793")
Verified:
11/30/2010 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
2 (1  active, 0  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
No images


Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  2. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  3. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
  4. Deb, D. B. 1979. Solanaceae in India. In: Hawkes, J. G. et al., eds., The biology and taxonomy of the Solanacae 105.
  5. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  6. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  7. Gibbs Russell, G. E. et al. 1985, 1987. List of species of Southern African plants, ed. 2. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa Note: v. 51. 1985; v. 56. 1987
  8. Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
  9. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  10. Lawrence, G. H. M. 1960. The cultivated species of Solanum. Baileya 8:30.
  11. Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
  12. Missouri Botanical Garden. W³Tropicos (on-line resource).
  13. PBI Solanum Project. Solanaceae source: a global taxonomic resource for the nightshade family (on-line resource).
  14. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  15. Symon, D. E. 1981. A revision of the genus Solanum in Australia. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4:117-118.
  16. Whalen, M. D. 1984. Conspectus of species groups in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. Gentes Herbarum 12:212-214. Note: gives range of Solanum giganteum in Africa
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
EnglishAfrican-holly  1Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya   
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaUganda   
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSudan   
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaAngola  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMalawi  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaEswatini  Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaCape Province Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Natal Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaTransvaal Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaBenin  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaCôte D'Ivoire  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGhana  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGuinea  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaLiberia  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaNigeria  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSierra Leone  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaTogo  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaCameroon  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo   
1NativeAfricaWest-Central Tropical AfricaGabon  Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia s.Deb, D. B. 1979. Solanaceae in India. In: Hawkes, J. G. et al., eds., The biology and taxonomy of the Solanacae 105.
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka  Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
2Cultivated    also cult. 
4Naturalized    natzd. elsewhere 
Native
Africa
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Uganda
  • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Eswatini, South Africa [Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India (s.), Sri Lanka
Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)
  1. Cufodontis, G. 1953-1972. Enumeratio plantarum aethiopiae: Spermatophyta.
  2. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
  3. Deb, D. B. 1979. Solanaceae in India. In: Hawkes, J. G. et al., eds., The biology and taxonomy of the Solanacae 105.
  4. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
  5. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
  6. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental Symon, D. E. 1981. A revision of the genus Solanum in Australia. J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 4:117-118.
Environmentalornamental Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Environmentalornamental Lawrence, G. H. M. 1960. The cultivated species of Solanum. Baileya 8:30.
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=101447. Accessed 12 May 2026.