Naranjilla is a spreading, herbaceous shrub to 8 ft. (2.5 m) high with thick stems that become somewhat woody with age; spiny in the wild, spineless in cultivated plants and is native to Andean countries of Columbia and Ecuador. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered in short purple hairs. Naranjilla are delicate plants and must be protected from strong winds and direct sunlight. They grow best in partial shade. The fruit has a citrus flavor, sometimes described as a combination of rhubarb and lime. The juice of the naranjilla is green and is often used as a juice or for a drink called lulada.
| Name | Naranjilla |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Solanum quitoense |
| Native | Indigenous to the Andean countries of Columbia and Ecuador |
| Common/English Name | Lulo, Naranjilla, Quito-Orange, obando, cocona, or nuqui |
| Name in Other Languages | Columbia : Lulo Swedish : Naranjilla French : Morelle De Quito Spanish : Lulo German : Quito-Nachtschatten Ecuador : Naranjilla |
| Plant Growth Habit | Erect, spreading herbaceous perennial |
| Growing Climate | Intolerant of full sun exposure but favors semi-shade and wind protected areas. |
| Soil | Does best in well-drained rich organic soil but will also grow on poor, stony soils, calcareous soils and on scarified limestone. It must have good drainage. |
| Plant Size | 8 ft. (2.5 m) high |
| Stem | Thick, lignescent, pubescent (with purple stellate trichomes) stem, prickly in the wild, unarmed in cultivated plant. |
| Leaf | Alternate leaves are oblong-ovate, to 2 ft (60 cm) long and 18 in (45 cm) wide, soft and woolly. There may be few or many spines on petioles, midrib and lateral veins, above and below, or the leaves may be completely spineless. About 1 1/5 in (3 cm) wide, have 5 petals, white on the upper surface, purple hairy beneath, and 5 prominent yellow stamens. The unopened buds are likewise covered with purple hairs. |
| Flower | Fragrant, pentamerous, strongly andromonoecious in short axillary inflorescence of 1–20 flowers. Staminate flowers abundant in distal produced inflorescences. Calyx broadly campanulate with 5 ovate to broadly ovate lobes, persistent; corolla with 5 ovate-lanceolate, white petals, purple pubescent beneath, stamens with 5 yellow anthers; ovary globose, 4-loculed, densely pubescent with a cylindrical straight style and capitates stigma. |
| Fruit Shape & Size | 1–4 per inflorescence, globose, round or round-ovate, to 2 1/2 in (6.25 cm) across and contains 4 compartments separated by membranous partitions and filled with translucent green or yellowish, very juicy, slightly acid to acid, pulp of delicious flavor which has been likened to pineapple-and-lemon. |
| Fruit Color | Brownish-green turning to orange when ripe |
| Fruit Skin | Smooth leathery, thick peel |
| Flesh Color | Light yellow-orange with a large ring of juicy green pulp and small, thin seeds. |
| Flavor/Aroma | Citrus flavor, |
| Taste | Citrusy, resemble a cross between a pineapple and a lemon |
| Seed | Numerous, small, lenticular, flat, minutely pitted, buff-colored, 2.5–3.5 mm diameter |
| Major Nutrition | Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 17.5 µg (14.58%) Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 1.74 mg (10.88%) Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)0.128 mg (9.85%) Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.9 mg (6.00%) Carbohydrate 7.08 g (5.45%) Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid) 0.264 mg (5.28%) Iron, Fe 0.42 mg (5.25%) Potassium, K 240 mg (5.11%) Vitamin A, RAE 34 µg (4.86%) Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) 0.054 mg (4.50%) |
| Health Benefits |
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| Calories in 1 cup (120 gm) | 30 K cal |