• Family : SOLANACEAE
  (Nightshade Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : BAINGAN FAMILY (बैंगन फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : SOLANACEAE
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Solanum erianthum D. Don
• Common name : Common Nightshade
• Vernacular name : Asheta (Hindi); Malaichundai, Aanai sundaikkai (Tamil); Gurra-pudeccha, Rasagadi maanu (Telugu); Donka bejji, Orso (Oria); Chunda, Erichunda, Malachunda (Malayalam)
• Habit : Shrub
• Habitat : Degraded semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests, also in wasteland
• Comments / notes : Occasional on hills above 800m, on slopes.
• Key identification features : Unarmed
• Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : East Godavari district, Vishakapatnam district, Chittoor district, Srikakulam district
  • Karnataka : Kolar district
  • Kerala : Kannur district, Wayanad district, Palakkad district, Idukki district, Thiruvananthapuram district
  • Odisha : Mayurbhanj district, Ganjam district, Koraput district
  • Tamil Nadu : Salem district, Vellore district, Tiruvannamalai district, Dindigul district, Dharmapuri district
• Native : South America
• World Distribution : Tropics
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Solanum erianthum. Downloaded on 5 June 2025.

Botanical Description

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