Eggplant as "S. edule", which is also a junior synonym of sticky nightshade ("S. sisymbriifolium"). Scopoli's "S. zeylanicum" refers to the eggplant, and that of Blanco to "S. lasiocarpum". 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
Berry (botany) systematic botany. He used eight different terms for fruits, one of which was ' or berry, distinguished from other types of fruit such as ' (drupe) and ' (pome). A ' was defined as "'", meaning "unvalved solid pericarp, containing otherwise naked seeds". The adjective "'" here has the sense of "solid with tissue softer than the outside; stuffed". A berry or ' was distinguished from a drupe and a pome, both of which also had an unvalved solid pericarp; a drupe also contained a nut (') and a pome a capsule ('), rather than the berry's naked seeds. Linnaeus'