Eggplant Eggplant Eggplant (US), aubergine (UK), or brinjal (South Asia and South Africa ) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae, "Solanum melongena", grown for its often purple edible fruit. The spongy, absorbent fruit of the plant is widely used in cooking in many different cuisines, and is often considered a vegetable, even though it is a berry by botanical definition. As a member of the genus "Solanum", it is related to the tomato and the potato. Like the tomato, its skin and seeds can be eaten, but, like the potato, it is not advisable to eat it raw.
Berry 1800s, English breeders of strawberry made varieties of "F. ananassa" which were important in strawberry breeding in Europe, and hundreds of cultivars have since been produced through the breeding of strawberries. A form of the word "berry" is found in all the Germanic languages; for example, Old English "berie" compares with Old Saxon and Old High German "beri", and Old Norse "ber". These forms point to the Proto Germanic "*bazją". In Old English, the word was mainly applied to grapes, but has since grown to its current definition. In botanical terminology, a berry is a simple fruit with seeds and