PlantFiles: Eggplant, Aubergine
Solanum melongena var. esculentum

This is information from where I bought seeds; "Thought to be a native of the Malay Peninsula because of early references by the Chinese to the 'Malay melon', an aubergine with typical purple skin. Other references suggest that it also came from Africa. Golden Eggs is a cultivar of the original plant and has spread all over the world. This cultivar was known to have been grown by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1700's both as a source of food and an ornamental. The fruit goes under many names including guinea squash (English), aubergine (French), berenjela (Portuguese), berenjena (Spanish) and terong (Indonesian). A tropical, annual plant, it will thrive both indoors and outdorrs, depending on the climate. A shrub growing to 1 metre (39in), it will produce 10 to 30 fruits in a season. Initially the fruit is white but changes to yellow on ripening. It is edible and tastes like a melon but immature fruit can be bitter. It can be baked, steamed, fried, used in jams and condiments or eaten raw after removing the skin. Propagation by seed occurs readily."

Most varieties of S. melongena produce dark-skinned fruit, but certain cultivars produce fruit that is yellow to creamy white in color.

This is an easy to grow indoor pot plant or outside annual, can be pinched and pruned. A long lasting garden performer. Plant usually begins to show purple flowers in 4 to 8 weeks after transplanting. It takes 2 to 6 weeks for fruit to set. It produces an egg-shaped, non-edible, non-poisonous fruit which is said to taste bitter. The fruit changes from white to yellow and remains on the plant for weeks.