Solanum retroflexum aka Wonderberry

Solanum retroflexum, or sunberry, is in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Kew says it comes from southern tropical and southern Africa. It lists a tropical climate with dry spells each season. Useful Tropical Plants gives a different view of its roots. It may be a garden hybrid, or cross between plants. That source says no one knows it in the wild. These sources do not settle where the plant first grew. The RHS says it is not native to Britain or Ireland.

Sunberry grows upright to about 2 feet [0.6 metres] tall. Useful Tropical Plants treats it as a crop grown for one year. Kew says it may live for one year or more. The sources give no full-grown width or wider height range. They give no leaf or stem details for this species. The RHS gives such facts only for the whole genus. These do not show this species' exact form.

The plant bears deep blue fruit in small groups. Each fruit is about 0.03 feet [0.01 metres] across. Useful Tropical Plants notes a mix-up with garden huckleberry. That is a different species, and sunberry has smaller fruit. The two names do not mean the same plant. Insects pollinate the flowers, but the sources give no bloom season. They give no flower shape or colour for this species. Growers sometimes raise it for fruit, and named forms exist.

Useful Tropical Plants says sunberry is easy to grow. It can grow in a wide range of garden soils. For best growth, that source calls for rich soil that drains well. It also calls for a site in full sun. Sow seed straight where the plants will grow. The sources give no guide on when to water. They do not say how much frost it can take. They give no hardiness zone, pest list, or disease record. They list its garden use as a fruit crop, not for show.

You can eat the fruit raw or cooked. The source finds it tastes better cooked than raw. It gives the fruit an edibility score of two out of five. It lists no use as medicine or for other needs. The page warns of alkaloids across the whole genus. This broad warning does not show how toxic this species is. The fruit entry does not support eating leaves or stems. Nor does it support eating any of its other parts.