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Leaves solitary, the upper ones often appearing geminate; petiole 1–9.5 cm long; lamina membranous, 2.5–16 × 2.5–19 cm, broadly ovate, sub-orbicular or ovate-cordate, sometimes ovate-oblong, base ± cordate and ± unequal-sided, apex acute or somewhat obtuse to rounded, coarsely serrate or irregularly lobed, often ± deeply, the lobes often acute, but also obtuse or rounded, occasionally acuminate, sinuate-dentate to deeply lobulate, rarely ± entire, conspicuously but rather thinly covered with long simple hairs, smaller hairs and glands above, more densely so beneath, the hairs whitish or rarely yellowish, and also generally numerous straight prickles, mainly on midrib and nerves, on both surfaces.
Perennial herb or small shrub, up to 1.2(2) m high, unpleasantly smelling, usually copiously armed; hairs simple, pluricellular, ± spreading or appressed, of various lengths, a few stellate with a long central ray and short lateral rays, also shorter apically glandular hairs and ± sessile glands; prickles stramineous or yellowish, often violaceous at the base, shining, 1–18 mm long, 0.5–1.5 mm wide at the base, laterally sub-compressed, slender, subulate, straight or more rarely rather recurved, spreading or rarely slightly reflexed, striate-sulcate and glabrous.
Calyx 3–7 mm long, 4–10 mm across, campanulate to cupular, ± deeply lobed, very accrescent, moderately or shortly villous or pilose and ± prickly in fertile flowers; lobes unequal, 2–4 × 0.8–2 mm, triangular to linear-lanceolate, acuminate, reflexed, in fruit enlarged to 8 × 5 mm and concealing it only at the base when ripe.
A soft shrub. It grows about 1 m tall. It is often grown as an annual. It has prickles. The leaves have lobes. The flowers are small and white. They are normally singly in the axils of leaves. The fruit are bright red. They are 5 cm across. These normally have ridges and lobes. They look like tomatoes.
Flowers 5(6)-merous; pedicels 8–28 mm long, slender but thickened distally, ± densely villous to pilose with simple, spreading hairs, and also shorter, apically glandular hairs intermixed, ± prickly in fertile flowers and ± unarmed in sterile ones, in fruit elongated to 60 mm, erect to deflected.
Corolla white or whitish, occasionally suffused with mauve or purple, rotate or rotate-stelliform, with purple hairs; limb 10–22 mm across; lobes 6–10 × 2.5–5 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, with long simple hairs and also short apically glandular hairs intermixed outside, glabrous inside, reflexed.
Cymes lateral, leaf-remote, unbranched, racemiform, 2–3.5 cm long, 2–7-flowered, ± densely villous to pilose, rarely with purplish hairs, ± prickly, usually the lowest flower(s) more prickly, hermaphrodite and fertile, occasionally flowers solitary; peduncle none or almost so.
Ovary 2 × 1.5–2 mm, ovoid or globose, with minute-stipitate glands ± dense mainly upwards and a few simple, short hairs near the base; style 6–10 mm long, somewhat exceeding the stamens in fertile flowers, straight, glabrous or with few short hairs at the base.
Seeds ± numerous, pale fuscescent to brownish, sub-shining, (2)2.5–4.5 × 2–3 mm, compressed, reniform, elliptic or sub-circular in outline, ± smooth, manifestly reticulate all over, the margins sometimes thickened but not forming a wing.
Fruit somewhat shining, green and white or greenish-cream marbled or patterned to pale or dirty-yellow when ripe, 2–3 cm in diameter, globose, glabrous.
Stamen filaments 1–2 mm long; anthers 5.5–7 mm long, lanceolate or lanceolate-oblong in outline, manifestly cordate at the base.
Branches sometimes purple tinged, with short hairs, long tapered hairs, some glandular hairs and abundant slender prickles.
White flowers 1/2 in. diam. and smooth brown-yellow nodding fruits.
Armed with nearly straight spines
An undershrub 1-2 ft. high
