Manthakkali, or Solanum nigrum is an edible strain of Black Nightshade are used as food in Tamil Nadu. The plant is an erect, many-branched herb growing 0.5 to 1.0 m high. The plant bears thin, oval, slightly purplish leaves up to 15 cm in length, has numerous white flowers and usually purple to black, round berries about 0.75 cm in diameter containing many small, flattened, yellow seeds. The ripe berries and cooked leaves of this edible, and when the leaves are thoroughly boiled, they can be used like spinach. The ripe black berries are described as sweet and salty, with hints of liquorice and melon. It is nutritious containing high levels of Vitamin C, as well as niacin, riboflavin, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. It is also used in herbal medicine, the leaves and berries can be eaten as a treatment for ulcers.
