Solanum melongena (aubergine)

The cultivated eggplant or aubergine, Solanum melongena, is cultivated world wide for its fruits which are used in cooking.

Aubergines are native to southeast Asia, but were brought to Europe sometime in the 1500s, where they eventually became popular and were exported around the world (Eu-Sol: Eggplant history).

The name by which the aubergine is known in the United States is eggplant, thought to come from old white fruited varieties where the fruit is egg-shaped.

Species detail

In tropical areas aubergines grow as perennial shrubs and can be up to about a metre or more high, but in the temperate zone they are annuals, and die back in winter unless grown in a greenhouse.

Plant breeders select different fruit shapes and colours and cross the plants to create the many cultivated types we grow in our gardens.

Taxonomy

The wild relatives of Solanum melongena have stem prickles, however cultivated varieties lack these prickles thanks to the selection process by humans. Find out more about the taxonomy of the aubergine.
Distribution

Find out where the aubergine is thought to have originated from and the areas that produce the majority of the world's aurbergine supply.
Biology

Learn about the unsusual flowers of Solanum melongena and the different colours of the aubergine fruit.
Pollination

Discover the process by which bees pollinate Solanum melongena.
Conservation

While Solanum melongena is not a threatened species, there is concern over its conservation. Discover more about the conservation status of the aubergine.
References

Get reference material for Solanum melongena.