{{Short description|Species of shrub}} {{One source|date=October 2025}} {{Speciesbox |image = |genus = Solanum |species = repandum |authority = G.Forst.{{R|POWO}} |synonyms = {{Species list |Solanum ferox var. repandum |(G.Forst.) Bitter |Solanum latifolium |Dunal |Solanum mariannense |Hosok. |Solanum quitense |Hook. & Arn. |Solanum seedii |Horne ex Baker }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:819962-1 |title=''Solanum repandum'' G.Forst. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |year=2025 |access-date=31 October 2025}}</ref> }}
'''''Solanum repandum''''' is a species of evergreen shrub native to various island groups across the Pacific Ocean (Bismarck Archipelago, Cook Islands, Fiji, Mariana islands, Marquesas, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Society Islands, Vanuatu),{{R|POWO}} and occasionally grown for its edible fruit.
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2025}} Only partially domesticated and very rare in cultivation outside of its native range, it is also known as '''''kokoua''''' or '''''huou'''''. Solanum repandum will apparently hybridize with a number of close relatives, including the South American ''naranjilla'', ''pseudolulo'', and Solanum candidum, along with the Solanum lasiocarpum, from India. ''Solanum repandum'' is, in fact, so similar in growth habit and in its fruit that it has been possibly considered a subspecies of either Solanum quitoense (naranjilla) or Solanum lasiocarpum. The three species are native to different geographical areas, and tolerate slightly different climatic conditions, but their overall habit of growth is nearly identical, as is the use for the fruit in local cuisines. Each of them features a unique ring of emerald green juice surrounding the seeds in fruit that otherwise ripen to yellow or orange. The immature fruit is covered is bristles, which detach easily upon full ripening.
Like many of its relatives, ''S. repandum'' is a close relative of other nightshades cultivated for their edible fruit, including the tomato (''S. lycopersicum''), the naranjilla (''S. quitoense'') and the eggplant (''S. melongena''). It will readily hybridize with ''Solanum candidum'', ''Solanum quitoense'' (naranjilla), ''Solanum lasiocarpum'' (Indian nightshade), and ''Solanum sessiliflorum'' (cocona), though in some cases those hybrids are sterile.
Scientifically, ''S. repandum'' is of additional scientific interest, as is S. candidum, as they appear to be the closest relatives and a possible link species between the Asian and South American members of the same botanical clade.
==Distribution and habitat== {{Unreferenced section|date=October 2025}} ''Solanum repandum'' is presumed to be native to a wide areas scattered around the archipelagos of the Pacific. Like the ''cocona'', ''naranjilla'', and ''Indian nightshade'', ''S. candidium'' can bear fruit within 1 or 2 years from seed. A short-lived perennial, fruit production requires a rather long growing season, which limits its agricultural potential in more temperate climates, though hybridization and breeding might make this a species worthy of further investigation.
Like most edible nightshades, the ''S. repandum'' is attractive to pests like aphids, white flies, beetles, and spider mites, all of which can likewise destroy naranjillas and coconas quickly.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7555769}}
Category:Edible Solanaceae Category:Tropical fruit repandum Category:Austronesian agriculture