Eggplant
| Eggplant | |
|---|---|
| Fruits growing on the plant | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Solanales |
| Family: | Solanaceae |
| Genus: | Solanum |
| Subgenus: | Solanum subg. Leptostemonum |
| Section: | Solanum sect. Melongena |
| Species: | S. melongena |
| Binomial name | |
| Solanum melongena | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Solanum ovigerum Dunal | |
Eggplant (US, CA, AU, PH), aubergine (UK, IE, NZ), brinjal (IN, SG, MY, ZA, SLE), or baigan (IN, GY) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Solanum melongena is grown worldwide for its edible fruit, typically used as a vegetable in cooking.
Most commonly purple, the spongy, absorbent fruit is used in several cuisines. It is a berry by botanical definition. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato, chili pepper, and potato, although those are of the Americas region while the eggplant is of the Eurasia region. Like the tomato, its skin and seeds can be eaten, but it is usually eaten cooked. Eggplant is nutritionally low in macronutrient and micronutrient content, but the capability of the fruit to absorb oils and flavors into its flesh through cooking expands its use in the culinary arts.
It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications: one in South Asia, and one in East Asia. In 2023, world production of eggplants was 61 million tonnes, with China and India combining for 85% of the total.