Solanum melongena

Solanum melongena (berenjena) — una solanácea amante del calor originaria de India y el Sudeste Asiático, en formas moradas, blancas, rayadas y las estilizadas variedades asiáticas. El hogar botánico de nuestra colección de berenjenas.

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Solanum melongena — aubergine (eggplant)

Solanum melongena is the botanical name for the aubergine, or eggplant, a tender, heat-loving member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). It is the species behind our eggplant range within the fruiting vegetable collection, a close cousin of the tomato and pepper.

History & origin

The aubergine originated in India and Southeast Asia, where it was domesticated thousands of years ago and remains hugely diverse. It spread west through the Arab world, reaching the Mediterranean and Moorish Spain in the Middle Ages. Like its relative the tomato, it was long treated with suspicion in cooler Europe — as a nightshade it was even nicknamed the “mad apple” — before becoming central to the cooking of the Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia.

Its species name, melongena, traces back through medieval Latin and Arabic to the plant's old Asian names.

Botanical characteristics

A bushy, tender perennial grown as an annual, the aubergine bears glossy fruit far beyond the familiar large purple type — slim Asian varieties, round and egg-shaped forms (the original “egg” plants), and fruit in white, green, striped and orange. It needs real warmth to crop well and, like peppers, does best under cover or in our container range in cooler climates.

Growing Solanum melongena from seed

Treat aubergines much like peppers: sow early indoors in warmth, grow on in good light, and give them a greenhouse, polytunnel or the sunniest spot once it is reliably warm. Feed with a high-potash fertiliser once fruiting, and keep plants evenly watered. Our germination guide and vegetable sowing calendar help you time it.

Ready to grow aubergines? Browse the varieties or learn the basics first.

Related categories: Eggplant · Tomato · Sweet Peppers · Container Veg · Fruiting Veg

At SeedsChoice, every order ships from Meppel, NL with fast, tracked EU delivery.

Preguntas frecuentes

¿Qué es Solanum melongena?
Es el nombre botánico de la berenjena, una fruta de la familia de las solanáceas.

¿De dónde proceden las berenjenas?
De la India y el sudeste asiático; se extendieron hacia el oeste a través del mundo árabe hasta el Mediterráneo.

¿Por qué se llama «eggplant» en inglés?
Las variedades antiguas eran pequeñas, blancas y con forma de huevo.

¿Necesitan invernadero las berenjenas?
El calor ayuda mucho en climas frescos — cultívalas bajo cubierta o en macetas al sol.

¿Cómo las cultivo?
Trátelas como los pimientos: siembra temprana en interior con calor y abona con fertilizante rico en potasio cuando empiecen a fructificar.