Plant · P-218

Naranjilla

Solanum quitoense

Naranjilla is an Andean cloud-forest relative of tomato grown across South America for its tart, protein- and mineral-rich juice, used in effervescent drinks, sauces and preserves, with a fruit flavor rated among the best of its family. The catch is timing and heat: it needs ten to thirteen months from planting before it starts fruiting, performs best around 62-66 F, and loses tolerance well before 86 F - conditions found in cool, high-elevation cloud forest, not a hot lowland summer. The ripe fruit is covered in fine stinging hairs that need to be rubbed or scrubbed off before handling or eating, and every green part of the plant carries the poisonous alkaloids typical of its family.