Just run into this species. Or actually might have seen pictures of the fruits before, but at that time the information that I found might have been mixed with it’s relatives in warmer climates. Now that I look at the information I was able to find, it seems very interesting. Compact when flowering, in the same family as tomato etc so possibly around 2 months from flower to ripe fruit and native to high mountains of mexico so should tolerate cold. But it seems hard to find any information how it actually behaves. Would it lend itself to be grown as annual. So flowers 2-3 months from sowing and then has time to ripen the fruits. Or as it seems to grow tubers, also wintering it might be interesting. Then there is also the trouble of finding seeds of different local populations, but before going there it would be good to know if it would work as an annual. Also if there are others interested in EU, that would be cool too.
Could find one source for seeds that I think is in EU so would be easy to get, but is it worth it I don’t know.
I found a a grow report: Lycianthes moziniana - Tlanoxtle - #13 by Professor_Porcupine - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit from someone who has grown this exact plant. According to him they flowered very late. I think that because they are adapted to short summer days they will not flower until Autumn in temperate climates. Also found a website(I can’t find it anymore) where the yield per hectare was said to be 1.5 tonnes which is really low. You could try but I don’t know if it is worth it
Also found another interesting nightshade(Salpichroa origanifolia), and it is actually perennial in temperate climates even though it is from South America. Because this is not a temperate species(even though it will easily survive winter) it doesn’t require cold stratification. It might be interesting to breed to have larger fruits and higher yields
I found that too, but I was wondering how late it can really get if in the top of it’s native range it can have consistent frosts in october and probably even in september. So maybe it’s not as strong as with oca for example or it has some serious frost tolerance. Even then, based on weather data it doesn’t seem that it would make sense to plan for ripening in november in those areas. Late flowering can also come from so many other reasons (many have tomatoes or peppers flower late in short climates) so I’d like to hear from someone who has had it growing for years in a temperate climate. Maybe in hot climate it wont flower during hight of the heat. I also read about the yield, but I understand it’s only measured when grown as “weed” among barley. I don’t think it’s been domesticated to be grown as it’s own, but more like taking advantage of a nuisance.
Lycianthes moziniana has serious potential but I think crossing it with different species is where the most potential arrives! Check out this edible blue fruited Tlanoxtle (Lycianthes acapulcensis)
It’s crazy that something this blue exist & is edible!
I also wonder with it’s potato-like tubers might these be edible too? Reguardless they make transplanting/propagating these easier + they can perennialize in a protected spot.
As for your species, When Overripe/Bletted, pulp looses most of it’s sharp vegetal character, becaming sweet while keeping pleasant sourness with mild savory cinnamon/mint flavor. Sweetest part is the core of fruit.
Natural Interspecies hybrids between both species happen where both species populations meet, so in some ways the whole thing can be considered a species complex.
As for all the cross-compatible species in this complex, look into these
Acapulcensis/Moziniana Complex Clade
Lycianthes dejecta (Bitter Tlanoxtle)
Lycianthes peduncularis (?)
Lycianthes moziniana (Tlanoxtle) : Also spelled as Lycianthes mozinoana
Lycianthes rzedowskii (White-flowered Black Tlanoxtle)
Lycianthes acapulcensis (Blue Tlanoxtle)
Lycianthes ciliolata (Black Tlanoxtle)
Lycianthes hintonii (?)
Lycianthes starbuckii (Starbuck’s Thlanoxtle)
As for finding seeds of this species, really the best option is to know someone who lives in that area (Southern Mexico Region) to trade seeds with you.
The only people I know who encounter this plant are people using INaturalist, so if you want to source seeds, this is really the only option (especially for the other species). Otherwise it’s collecting the seeds from there by yourself.
@ferat wow it really is a small world. Just looked into Salpichroa origanifolia, is it edible? Do you eat the ripe fruits? what do they taste like?
