About Solanum ellipticum R.Br.
Solanum ellipticum R.Br. is commonly called potato bush, and is also known by the broader ambiguous term "bush tomato". The Arrernte name merne awele-awele may refer to this species, or to the closely similar Solanum quadriloculatum. This species is native to Australia, and is a small fruiting shrub in the Solanaceae family. While the name Solanum ellipticum used by J.M. de Conceição Vellozo actually refers to what is now classified as Solanum cylindricum, the species was formally described by Robert Brown, and later misattributed to F. von Mueller by some sources. It is a small, fast-growing shrub with a waxy appearance, that typically grows alongside creeks. It produces abundant fruit in the year following fire or heavy rain. Its fruits have a pungent scent, and the whole plant can be detected from some distance away when fruits are ripe. Like other bush tomatoes, the fruit of Solanum ellipticum is edible when eaten raw or cooked. Historically, Solanum quadriloculatum was included within Solanum ellipticum as variety duribaccalis, and this classification is still used in some taxonomic treatments, but most modern authorities now treat the two bush tomato species as separate. Similarly, the former variety horridum of this species is now classified as Solanum senticosum; Robert Brown's Solanum echinatum was sometimes treated as Solanum ellipticum var. pannifolium; and Solanum esuriale was included in Solanum ellipticum as form inermis. There are also several now-invalid taxonomic names for Solanum ellipticum, most of which refer to forms or varieties once thought to be distinct but are not considered taxonomically separate today. These invalid names are: Solanum ellipticum f. albiflora Domin (a lapsus), Solanum ellipticum f. albiflorum Domin, Solanum ellipticum var. chillagoense Domin, Solanum ellipticum var. mollibaccalis J.M.Black, Solanum lithophilum F.Muell., and Solanum cleistogamum Symon.
