Eggplant & X28;Solanum Melongena& X29; Stock Image

Eggplant grows 40 to 150 cm & x28;1.3 to 4.9 ft& x29; tall, with large, coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm & x28;3.9 to 7.9 in& x29; long and 5 to 10 cm & x28;2.0 to 3.9 in& x29; broad. Semiwild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm & x28;7.38 ft& x29;, with large leaves over 30 cm & x28;12 in& x29; long and 15 cm & x28;5.9 in& x29; broad. On wild plants, the fruit is less than 3 cm & x28;1.2 in& x29; in diameter; in cultivated forms: 30 cm & x28;12 in& x29; or more in length are possible for long, narrow types or the large fat purple ones common to the West. Botanically classified as a berry, the fruit contains numerous small, soft, edible seedsthat taste bitter because they contain or are covered in nicotinoid alkaloids, like the related tobacco.