Solandra grandiflora, the showy chalicevine, or papaturra[1] is a member of the nightshade (Solanaceae) genus Solandra and, like the other members of the genus, is a climbing plant with large, attractive, trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to Central America and northern South America and is widely grown in the tropics as an ornamental.[2] The green parts of the plant are highly toxic (hallucinogenic / delirient in small doses), due to tropane alkaloid content,[3] and have caused deaths from anticholinergic poisoning,[4] but the flesh of the ripe fruit (although not the unripe fruit or seeds) is said to be edible. The fruits, which are globular and largely enclosed by the accrescent calyces, can reach a kilogram in weight and have a taste described as apple-like or melon-like.[2]
Symptoms caused by ingestion of plant parts - even from chewing fragments of flowers - include dryness of throat, headache, weakness, fever, delirium, hallucinations and potentially fatal circulatory and respiratory failure.[5]
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Solandra grandiflora". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
^ abLötschert, W. & Beese, G. (translated by Clive King) 1994 Collins Photo Guide to Tropical Plants pub. Harper Collins. ISBN0 00 219112 1. Page 51.
^Quattrocchi, Umberto (2012). CRC World dictionary of medicinal and poisonous plants: common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms and etymology, pub. CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group. Vol. V: R-Z pps. 308-9.
^Tampion, John 1977, Dangerous Plants pub. David and Charles ISBN0 7153 7375 7. Page 28 - heading: Solandra guttata.
