Ripe cocona fruits ready to be eaten Solanum sessiliflorum, the cocona, is a tropical shrub of the family Solanaceae. The cocona plant has sturdy branches and huge, serrate and hairy leaves. Cocona closely resembles a number of close relatives, including naranjilla and pseudolulo. It can be distinguished from those plants by its lack of spines. It will hybridize with those and other close relatives. Cocona also lacks the characteristic purple coloring usually seen in the naranjilla. Its flowers resemble large potato flowers, with light green petals. Cocona is harvested in parts of South America around the Amazon rainforest such as Purús Province in eastern Peru.es:Palestina (Perú) The fruit of cocona is a red, orange or yellow edible berry. Cocona is native to the Andean region of South America, where it is occasionally cultivated for human consumption. Cocona can also be grown as an indoor ornamental plant in temperate climates, but it seems to be quite sensitive to spider mites, so care should be taken not to keep it in too dry air during winter. Like the naranjilla, coconas are highly sensitive to aphids and nematodes. As subtropical plants, they can endure cool weather, but will be killed or severely damaged by frost. During summer, it can be grown outside or in a cold greenhouse. When grown from seed, coconas can bear fruit in as little as 9 months, or as long as 24. Solanum georgicum and Solanum hyporhodium were (and sometimes still are) included in this species, but they are generally treated as distinct today. 6-month old cocona plants
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Solanum sessiliflorum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
🍽 Used in cooking
Compound class profile1 class
Steroidal alkaloids1
Documented compounds13 total
Compound
Class
Amount
Source
WATER
900,000 ppm
DukesPhytochem
CARBOHYDRATES
570,000 ppm
DukesPhytochem
CITRIC-ACID
80,000 ppm
DukesPhytochem
PROTEIN
60,000 ppm
DukesPhytochem
FIBER
40,000 ppm
DukesPhytochem
TANNIN
1,420 ppm
DukesPhytochem
PHOSPHORUS
1,400 ppm
DukesPhytochem
CALCIUM
1,200 ppm
DukesPhytochem
IRON
60 ppm
DukesPhytochem
NIACIN
50 ppm
DukesPhytochem
05DNA & barcoding2 specimens
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Solanum sessiliflorum has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
DNA specimens2
Marker genes3
GenBank sequences3
eDNA detections2
Countries1
The DNA barcodea real sequence read deposited for this species
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
★matK1★ITS2★ITS2
plant barcodefungal barcode
06Genome at a glanceCCDB · GoaT · TreeOfSex
The complete instruction manualSolanum sessiliflorum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
CCDB · ipcn-api-dl — Bernardello, L. M., C. B. Heiser & M. Piazzano. 1994. Karyotypic studies in Solanum section Lasiocarpa (Solanaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 81(1): 95–103.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
DNA clock origin3.82 Ma TimeTree
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
DNA clock origin
08Occurrence & distribution
Record type594 records
Wild obs. + sensor188
Museum / vouchered339
Cultivated / captive11
Other56
Origin
Native12
Range
Area of Occupancy AOO1 480 km²
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Coordinate accuracy84% within 1 km
≤100 m 101≤1 km 22≤10 km 11>10 km 13
147 georeferenced · 41 without coordinates
Open the mapobservation + sensor188
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Coordinate accuracy23% within 1 km
≤1 km 10≤10 km 27>10 km 6
43 georeferenced · 296 without coordinates
Open the institutions mapphysical evidence339
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Coordinate accuracy0% within 1 km
≤10 km 1>10 km 1
2 georeferenced · 9 without coordinates
Open the mapnot free-living11
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
10Collections & institutions
Holding institutions28 of 60 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
Institution
Specimens
Saint Louis, US
84
Bronx, US
63
Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas - SINCHIlocation not on record
23
National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record
17
Chicago, US
13
QCNElocation not on record
10
Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)location not on record
10
Universidad de Nariño (UdeNar)location not on record
10
Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)location not on record
7
Bloomington, US
7
Kew, GB
7
Blumenau, BR
6
South Kensington, GB
5
Universidad de la Amazonia (UniAmazonia)location not on record
5
Xiamen, CN
5
Universiti Sains Malaysialocation not on record
4
Aarhus, DK
4
HUT Culture Collectionlocation not on record
3
JBRJlocation not on record
2
Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH)location not on record
2
Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record
2
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)location not on record
2
Loja, EC
2
Ilhéus, BR
2
UFAClocation not on record
2
Institut fur Allgemeine Mikrobiologielocation not on record
2
University of Stellenboschlocation not on record
2
Mexico City, MX
1
UNESP-FCAlocation not on record
1
San Diego, US
1
Departamento de Sistematica e Ecologialocation not on record
1
Fort Worth, US
1
UFBAlocation not on record
1
Durham, US
1
Lima, PE
1
Herbario Selva Central Oxapampa - estación biológica del Jardín Botánico de Missourilocation not on record
1
La Paz, BO
1
Arequipa, PE
1
Río Palenque Science Centerlocation not on record
1
Göteborg, SE
1
Cusco, PE
1
BMlocation not on record
1
Herbario MAT de la Universidad Politécnica Estatal del Carchilocation not on record
1
US
1
Cenargenlocation not on record
1
UFMGlocation not on record
1
BAYLUlocation not on record
1
CEPLAClocation not on record
1
Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS)location not on record
1
Iquitos, PE
1
San José, CR
1
arosemena tola, EC
1
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BO
1
Elocation not on record
1
Quito, EC
1
MEXUlocation not on record
1
Station d'Ecologie de Lamtolocation not on record
1
Edinburgh, GB
1
Corporación Autónoma Regional Para la Defensa de la Meseta de Bucaramanga (CDMB)location not on record
1
Berlin, DE
1
60 institutions · 334 of 339 vouchered records shown · 5 without an institution code
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
09Environmental DNA2 detections
Where the DNA of Solanum sessiliflorum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Detections DNA found2
Studies independent surveys1
Signal confidence: weakweighed across independent studies, places & mapped detections
Where its DNA was found
0 of 2 detections have coordinates
Open the map0 countries0
How strong is each trace?
DNA read depthRead counts were not reported for this species — the map shows presence only, not how strong each trace was.
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.