Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

You know you want some eggplant! We’ve got us lotsa eggplant down here!

Aubergines (Solanum melongena) are a member of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Other members of this family include tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco. 

Like the tomato, since the flowers of the aubergines were obviously in the same family as the nightshades, European scholars long considered it highly poisonous. It’s known to be native to India and to have been used in Indian and Chinese cuisine as far back as 544 C.E., though it’s suspected to have been known as a food in India for over 4000 years.

Prospectus of the Tropical Development Company, Founders of the American City and Colony of McKinley Isle of Pines. 1904