Wonderberries are tetraploids!

[Shule]

So, I've read from two sources that wonderberries (which are believed to be Solanum retroflexum) are tetraploids. This is great news. I wonder if they would be bigger like tomatoes if they were diploids (tetraploid tomatoes are smaller, after all).

So, now I have some tetraploid seeds to work with. However, wonderberries (as purchased from Trade Winds Fruit) seem pretty stable, other than one trait: Some plants have furrier leaves than others. Luther Burbank may have bred most of the genetic diversity out of them.

Also, the ones that volunteer as weeds sometimes have ridged leaves (which the cultivated ones don't).

Tetraploids are said to mutate more, though, I think.

Here's one of the sources on wonderberries being tetraploids (it's a lot of reading):
http://bulbnrose.x10.mx/Heredity/Heiser ... berry.html

[Spike]

Very interesting! First I have heard of wonderberries and I am intrigued.

[NarnianGarden]

I have grown Wonderberry plants that were Solanum burbankii (named after Burbank)..

I still have seeds for the other type, but just haven't grown them yet...

Would love to try out the orange wonder berry that was sold by Rare seeds (aka Baker seeds), I wasn't able to get any germination yet...

[Toomanymatoes]

I grew Hexentomate (Solanum villosum) this year. I will send some seeds into the MMMM swap for you.

Image of the berries from the seed vendor:

hexentomate56.jpg

Maybe you can cross them? Did a quick search and there was a paper that had some success crossing S.nigrum with S.burbankii.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/cy ... 4_757/_pdf
https://phytokeys.pensoft.net/article/21991/

[NarnianGarden]

I grew Hexentomate (Solanum villosum) this year. I will send some seeds into the MMMM swap for you.

Image of the berries from the seed vendor:
hexentomate56.jpg

Maybe you can cross them? Did a quick search and there was a paper that had some success crossing S.nigrum with S.burbankii.

This is what I hoped to try, but the seeds from Baker didn't germinate... ! It's supposedly delicious. How did you find the flavour?

[Shule]

@Toomanymatoes

When did Baker Creek sell those? They look pretty cool.

I know they've sold Otricoli Orange Berry (Solanum nigra), and I've grown that, but it didn't agree with me (nor did the taste), and wonderberries were a lot easier to grow. Same for Chichiquelite as the Otricoli Orange Berry (which isn't orange). I tried garden huckleberries (probably not from Baker Creek), and the spider mites loved the plant so much that it never produced fruit.

[Toomanymatoes]

I grew Hexentomate (Solanum villosum) this year. I will send some seeds into the MMMM swap for you.

Image of the berries from the seed vendor:
hexentomate56.jpg

Maybe you can cross them? Did a quick search and there was a paper that had some success crossing S.nigrum with S.burbankii.

This is what I hoped to try, but the seeds from Baker didn't germinate... ! It's supposedly delicious. How did you find the flavour?

I need to try some more. I haven't tried any in some time but they did not seem very sweet to me. I am not sure they were completely ripe when I tried them. The plant is in my community garden and I plan on heading there today. Will try and collect all the ripe fruit.

[NarnianGarden]

My mistake, the seeds I had from Baker were indeed Solanum Nigra, which looked the same in the picture.

The thing was, they couldn't officially recommend them for ingestion... but kind of hinted they'd be delicious.. so I was disappointed the seeds didn't germinate. lol
Their Wonderberry seeds germinated just fine, and I had plenty of tasty berries..