Solanum muricatum is a South American species of evergreen shrub grown for its sweet edible fruit.
It is known by the Spanish common names of pepino or pepino dulce ('sweet cucumber', differentiating it from cucumber, which is also called pepino). It is also sometimes called pepino melon or melon pear due to its flavor. Another common name, tree melon, is more often used for the papaya.
Description
The fruit resembles a melon (Cucumis melo) in color, and its flavor recalls a succulent mixture of honeydew and cucumber.
The species is a close relative of other nightshades cultivated for their fruit, including the tomato (S. lycopersicum) and the eggplant/aubergine (S. melongena), which its own fruit closely resembles.
Taxonomy
The species was described in 1789 by 18th-century Scottish botanist William Aiton.
Solanum furcatum was also called Solanum muricatum by Bertero based on 19th-century French botanist Michel Félix Dunal.
Distribution and habitat
The pepino dulce is presumed to be native to the temperate Andean regions of Colombia, Peru, and Chile, though it is not known in the wild and the details of its domestication are unknown.
Cultivation
Pepinos were described by early Spanish colonizers as being cultivated on the coast; the Moche Valley in Peru was particularly famous for them. They are not, however, often found archaeologically as they are soft and pulpy and not easy to preserve, while their tough seeds are small and easily lost among debris.
In the United States, the fruit is known to have been grown in San Diego before 1889 and in Santa Barbara by 1897. More commercially viable cultivars were introduced from New Zealand and elsewhere towards the end of the 20th century, leading to its introduction into upscale markets in Japan, Europe and North America.
The plant is relatively hardy. In its native range it grows at altitudes ranging from close to sea level up to 3,000 metres (9,800 feet). It performs best in a warm, relatively frost-free climate....
