Gardening with Margaret Matthews
One man’s vege is another man’s poison
by Margaret Matthews
The potato, the tomato, and to a lesser extent the aubergine or eggplant, are familiar objects in the fruit and vegetable markets and are consumed daily by most of us. So, if I tell you that all are members of a family of poisonous plants, you will probably react with scepticism. But it is true that these plants are all members of a genus of South American plants Solanum, of which one, S. Wendlandii, is commonly known as the Costa Rican, or Deadly Nightshade.
The potato (S. tuberosum) spread gradually among the American Indian tribes. It’s name came from the Haitian batata, and later, when it arrived in Spain, patata. Sir Francis Drake is said to have introduced it into England in 1585, where it received the name we now use.
Sir Walter Raleigh grew the first potatoes in Ireland, on his estate in Cork. They were brought to Australia with the First Fleet. Edward Henty planted the first potatoes in Victoria at Portland Bay in 1834, and they have remained a most important asset to our economy to this day.
Potatoes were slow to be accepted as a food in Europe; because of their ‘family connections’ they were considered poisonous. It is true that potatoes that develop a greenish tinge should never be eaten. Potatoes are now a staple food in many countries, but in others rice supplants not only potatoes, but also bread.
There is an Irish proverb which says "Be eating one potato, peeling a second, having a third in your fist and your eye on a fourth".
The tomato has at times been botanically identified with the potato as S. lycopersicum, but it has now been placed after another allied genus in the same natural order, and is properly called Lycopersicum-esculentum.
The tomato was first cultivated by the Incas, Mayas and Aztecs. Its name was derived from the Aztec tomati, and was later renamed by the Spaniards, tomate, and then in England became tomato.
In Italy, however, it was known as pomo dei Mori (apple of the Moors) and later as pom d’ore (the golden apple). In France it was thought to be an aphrodisiac, and in consequence was called pom d’amour (the apple of love).
In all its extended travel, the tomato was not used as a food until the early 19th century. This was, of course, because of its family’s bad reputation, and it was grown only as a decorative garden shrub. Contrary to widespread belief, the tomato is neither a vegetable nor a fruit, but botanically is considered a berry.
Aubergine: The handsome purple fruit of the aubergine, or egg plant, has been slower to find favour than the potato or the tomato, although it has come into its own now that our eating habits have been influenced for the better by the introduction of so many European and Asian migrants.
The potato, tomato and the aubergine can be used in countless ways in the kitchen. They are three of the most versatile foods and available through most of the year.
There are more than 100 varieties of Solanum but only 20 of these have value in the garden for their ornamental flowers and seed capsules (as distinct from the three already described, which are a food source). There are several native to Australia, but few have value as garden shrubs. Most of these have violet-blue flowers and red or orange berries. They propagate readily from seed.
The Solanum most familiar to us as a garden plant is known appropriately as the Potato Creeper. Its botanical name is S. jasminoides: a fast growing twining plant, which grows to nine metres. It has star-shaped white flowers, and is a good stopgap when some quick cover is needed. This form is fairly frost resistant, but if cut down by a severe frost will recover and flower the next summer. It is very widely grown in Victoria.
When you next enjoy crisp, brown potatoes with your Sunday roast (a ritual which is no longer as widely observed as it was in ‘our day’) or perhaps tuck into French fries from the fast-food outlet, or bite into a juicy red tomato, remember that although curiosity may have killed the cat, the person who first plucked up the courage to sample the relatives of the Deadly Nightshade lived to tell the tale, and so gave to the world two of its most important foods.
Margaret Matthews gardening archive page
