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Solanum melongena

Eggplant
Solanum melongena 24 08 2012 (1).JPG
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species: S. melongena
Binomial name
Solanum melongena
L.
Synonyms

Solanum ovigerum Dunal
Solanum trongum Poir.
and see text

Eggplant, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 104 kJ (25 kcal)
5.88 g
Sugars 3.53 g
Dietary fiber 3 g
0.18 g
0.98 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1)
(3%)
0.039 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
(3%)
0.037 mg
Niacin (B3)
(4%)
0.649 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
(6%)
0.281 mg
Vitamin B6
(6%)
0.084 mg
Folate (B9)
(6%)
22 μg
Vitamin C
(3%)
2.2 mg
Vitamin E
(2%)
0.3 mg
Vitamin K
(3%)
3.5 μg
Minerals
Calcium
(1%)
9 mg
Iron
(2%)
0.23 mg
Magnesium
(4%)
14 mg
Manganese
(11%)
0.232 mg
Phosphorus
(3%)
24 mg
Potassium
(5%)
229 mg
Zinc
(2%)
0.16 mg
Other constituents
Water 92 g

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Solanum ovigerum Dunal
Solanum trongum Poir.
and see text

Eggplant (Solanum melongena), or aubergine, is a species of nightshade, grown for its edible fruit. Eggplant is the common name in North America, Australia and New Zealand, but British English uses the French word aubergine. It is known in South Asia and South Africa as brinjal.

The fruit is widely used in cooking. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato and the potato. It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species, the thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications, one in South Asia and one in East Asia.

The eggplant is a delicate, tropical perennial often cultivated as a tender or half-hardy annual in temperate climates. The stem is often spiny. The flower is white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The egg-shaped, glossy, purple fruit has white flesh with a meaty texture. The cut surface of the flesh rapidly turns brown when the fruit is cut open.

It grows 40 to 150 cm (1.3 to 4.9 ft) tall, with large, coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) broad. Semiwild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7.38 ft) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (5.9 in) broad. On wild plants, the fruit is less than 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, but much larger in cultivated forms: 30 cm (12 in) or more in length.


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