Eggplant - Pumpkin On A Stick
I got these seeds from a trade. Pumpkin On A Stick is an ornamental eggplant variety known by many names - Pumpkin Tree, Pumpkin Bush, Mock Tomato, Hmong Eggplant, Red Chinese Eggplant, Scarlet Chinese Eggplant, Kumba, Pumpkin Pepper, and Ethiopian Eggplant. It is Solanum integrifolium (AKA Solanum aethiopicum). The thorns give it away as an eggplant, despite the appearance often being mistaken for a pumpkin, tomato, or pepper. The fruits start out green before maturing to crimson red. After the weather starts to cool down and the eggplants start to dry out a bit, they fade to the pumpkin orange color. These plants grow 3-4 feet tall and could use staking. They can be grown in containers. In Africa this variety is used for both food and medicinal uses. The eggplants are very bitter, and are typically used green in soups, stews, and sauces (it's used as a spice). Each plant produces dozens of these 1-2 or 2-5 inch wide ribbed mock pumpkins. Pumpkin On A Stick is a variety native to Southeast Asia. In the US these are almost exclusively grown for floral arrangements and/or for decoration.
65-70 days to maturity
65-70 days to maturity