Botanical Name

Solanum macrocarpon L. [Solanaceae]

Specimen Type

Herbarium Sheet [Preserved Specimen]

Collector

Peter Thonning

Collection Date-s

1799 – 1803

Collection Location

southern part of the country [Ghana]

Colonial Context

Danish Gold Coast of Africa 1663–2070

Annotations Determinations and Type Specimen Status

On sheet: HB. VAHLII Solanum macrocarpum citropo ? Thonning e Guinea 117

On label: Solanum macrocarpum L. det. Bitter

On cover: It is probably seed from these plants which in 1807 was sent to Jacquin. He described the
plant in Eclogae plant. var; 1811-16 i: 123 pl. 83 as Solanum Thonningianum Jacq.

IDC microfiche foto: Isert et Thonning nr. 101 III 5-6

Solanum atropo Schumach. and Thonn. Beskr. Guineiske Pl.: 124 (1827)

Ownership and Collection Management History

Thonning 117; ex herb. Martin Vahl

Common Names

Koa-fyé (plant); Atropo (fruit); Fankvau (cooked leaves) [Schumacher/Thonning]

Historical Cultural and Traditional Knowledge

[Hepper (1976) p. 122:] "Is cultivated." "The unripe fruit is boiled in soup or is prepared with half-rotten fish; Spanish pepper; salt; palm oil and onions; a dish which the natives regard as a delicacy. The leaves yield a very good cabbage which is stewed in the same way as the fruit; this dish is called 'Fankvau' and is one of the native's choicest foods."

Source

Herbarium C NHMD

NHMD Herbarium C Catalogue Number

C10004575

C10004575

Copyright Owner

Natural History Museum of Denmark

Copyright License

CC BY 4.0 (images) and CC0 (metadata)