Solanum viride
Not known
Solanum viride is distributed across the Pacific from Fiji to the Pitcairn Islands and in Hawaii from sea level–300 m elevation. This species is both cultivated and feral in forests, thickets, and along beaches.
Solanum viride is a member of subgenus Leptostemonum (the spiny solanums) and within that clade is a member of section Irenosolanum.
Brewster, A.B. 1922. The hill tribes of Fiji: a record of forty years' intimate connection with the tribes of the mountainous interior of Fiji with a description of their habits in war & peace; methods of living, characteristics mental & physical, from the days of cannibalism to the present time. Seeley, Service & Co., London.
Papy, H.R. 1955. Tahiti et les îles voisines. Travaux du Laboratoire Forestier de Toulouse, Tome 5 - Géographie Forestière du Monde. Toulouse.
Seemann, B.C. 1865-1870. Flora Vitiensis. L. Reeve & Co., London.
Vorontsova, M.S., S. Stern, L. Bohs & S. Knapp. 2013. African spiny Solanum (subgenus Leptostemonum, Solanaceae): a thorny phylogenetic tangle. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 173: 176-193.
Whistler, W.A.. 1991. Ethnobotany of Tonga: the plants, their Tongan names, and their uses. Bishop Museum Series in Botany 2:1-155.
cannibal's tomato (English); boro-dina (Fiji); poro-poro (Tahiti)
Used as food for both fruits and leaves; Use of S. viride during cannibal feasts in Fiji has lead to a general macabre fascination with the species, and provided it with the English common name “Cannibal's Tomato.” Several authors wrote about the use of S. viride. The most extensive reports were provided by Seemann (1862, 1865–73) and Brewster (1922). According to Seemann (1862, 1865–73), the Fijians believed human flesh or “boloka” as they called it was difficult to digest and could cause constipation lasting two to three days or result in death. Apparently to aid in digestion, the leaves of three species, Trophis anthropophagorum Seem. (Moraceae), Omalanthus [sic Homalanthus] pedicellatus Benth. (Euphorbiaceae), and S. viride, were always eaten as a condiment being wrapped around the flesh before cooking (Seemann, 1862, 1865–73). The Fijians name for S. viride was boro dina (Seemann, 1862, 1865–73), sometimes spelled mboro ndina (Brewster, 1922); it is translated as “true spinach” (Brewster, 1922). To insure a regular and fresh supply, Solanum viride was grown next to the Bure-ni-sa or “stranger’s house” where the bodies were brought prior to consumption (Seemann, 1862, 1865–73). The fruits of S. viride are described as having a faint aromatic smell (Brewster, 1922; Seemann, 1862, 1865–73) and were occasionally made into a “tomato sauce.” The last documented act of cannibalism in which S. viride was used occurred in July 1867 when the Reverend Thomas Baker, a British missionary, was eaten (Brewster, 1922). However, there is no reason to believe that S. viride was not used in subsequent cannibal activities extending through 1874. In Fiji, Solanum viride was also utilized by white settlers (Brewster, 1922; Seemann, 1862, 1865–73) presumably with a different main course.
Besides uses as food, the leaves of S. viride are used medicinally in Tonga (Whistler, 1991), and the decorative fruits are made into crowns in the Society Islands (Papy, 1955) and garlands on Niue (Yuncker 10039).
Domesticated
Within section Irenosolanum, Solanum viride is of particular interest because it was domesticated. Both the leaves and fruits were eaten and desirable traits were selected for in both. As would be expected, leaves and fruit were selected for increased size, and leaves were also selected for glabrousness. Since two organs were the object of selection, the various domesticates of S. viride display a wide range of morphology. Some domesticates have large glabrous leaves but relatively small fruits while others have both glabrous leaves and large fruits. Some large fruited types have a thickened mesocarp which adds fleshiness to the fruits while others do not. Besides uses as food, the leaves of S. viride are used medicinally in Tonga (Whistler, 1991), and the decorative fruits are made into crowns in the Society Islands (Papy, 1955) and garlands on Niue (Yuncker 10039). The variability of the different domesticates could be recognized at the varietal level, but more investigation, especially in the field, is needed.
The exact area of domestication of S. viride remains unknown. The matter is complex because many domesticated forms can become established in the wild as was noted by Whistler (1991) and as can be seen from herbarium material. Though Fiji cannot be ruled out at this time, perhaps the best candidate for the domestication is Samoa (including American Samoa). The widest range of domesticated forms comes from Samoa, and specimens with many small fruits and pubescent leaves are found there. These specimens could represent the wild progenitor because of these undesirable/less palatable traits, but again more investigation is needed.
The existence of many domesticates on many islands has resulted in S. viride being the most over-named species in section Irenosolanum. The most colorful name given to the species was S. anthropophagorum, literally Solanum of the man eaters. Sadly, S. anthropophagorum is a synonym, but this might be just as well since the species was used by non-cannibals, too.
Use of S. viride during cannibal feasts in Fiji has lead to a general macabre fascination with the species, and provided it with the English common name “Cannibal's Tomato.” Several authors wrote about the use of S. viride. The most extensive reports were provided by Seemann (1862a, 1862b, 1865–73) and Brewster (1922). According to Seemann (1862a, 1862b, 1865–73), the Fijians believed human flesh or “boloka” as they called it was difficult to digest and could cause constipation lasting two to three days or result in death. Apparently to aid in digestion, the leaves of three species, Trophis anthropophagorum Seem. (Moraceae), Omalanthus [sic Homalanthus] pedicellatus Benth. (Euphorbiaceae), and S. viride, were always eaten as a condiment being wrapped around the flesh before cooking (Seemann, 1862a, 1862b, 1865–73). The Fijians name for S. viride was boro dina (Seemann, 1862a, 1862b, 1865–73), sometimes spelled mboro ndina (Brewster, 1922); it is translated as “true spinach” (Brewster, 1922). To insure a regular and fresh supply, Solanum viride was grown next to the Bure-ni-sa or “stranger’s house” where the bodies were brought prior to consumption (Seemann, 1862a, 1862b, 1865–73). The fruits of S. viride are described as having a faint aromatic smell (Brewster, 1922; Seemann, 1862a, 1862b, 1865–73) and were occasionally made into a “tomato sauce.” The last documented act of cannibalism in which S. viride was used occurred in July 1867 when the Reverend Thomas Baker, a British missionary, was eaten (Brewster, 1922). However, there is no reason to believe that S. viride was not used in subsequent cannibal activities extending through 1874. In Fiji, Solanum viride was also utilized by white settlers (Brewster, 1922; Seemann, 1862a, 1862b, 1865–73) presumably with a different main course.
Due to its lurid reputation, there has been some renewed interested in S. viride as a novelty in recent years. Several seed supply companies purportedly sell seeds of Solanum viride often under the name S. uporo Dunal. Unfortunately, many of these are not S. viride, but in fact S. aethiopicum L., a African species known as the Scarlet Eggplant (Vorontsova et al. 2013). In 2009, The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) purchased seeds of S. viride from the seed company Trade Winds Fruit. These turned out to be S. aethiopicum instead (voucher McClelland 564, NY), a disappointment for everyone involved at NYBG. Cultivation of S. viride in the Pacific seems to be waning. The people of the Pacific and of the rest of the world stand to lose one of the few crops domesticated in and perfectly adapted to the Pacific.
This species was for a long time cited as S. viride G. Forst., but that epithet was a nomen nudum, and was validated only by Sprengel's description in 1807. Forster used the name coined by Linnaeus' pupil Daniel Solander, who accompanied Joseph Banks on Captain Cook's first voyage (on HMS Endeavour).
No autonym variety was published for Solanum patameense. Therefore, the species is lectotypified on Solanum patameense var. grandifolium as the holotype of that variety is more complete than the holotype of Solanum patameense var. parvifolium. It has two inflorescences with several flower buds and fruiting pedicel though the fruit is missing. The lectotypes for other names treated here in synonymy were selected based on completeness of the collections.