Brinjal, egg plant

• The eggplant, brinjal or guinea squash (Solanum melongena) commonly used in cooking, is native to India. It grows 40 to 150 cm tall, wih large coarsely lobed leaves.

• The stem is often spiny. The flowers are white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is fleshy, has a meaty texture, and is less than 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms.

• The fruit contains numerous small, soft seeds, which are edible, but have a bitter taste because they contain nicotinoid alkaloids; this is unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.