Eggplant

Eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal is classified as a fruit/berry although more often considered, and consumed as a vegetable.

Like the potato and tomato, eggplant is a species of nightshade which provides an array of essential nutrients.  Other names for eggplant include mad-apple and guinea squash.

The shiny, purple egg-shaped fruit grows on plants which often have spiny stems and which produce white to purple flowers with yellow stamens.

The meaty flesh contains many small soft edible, but bitter seeds.

Although some nightshade species are poisonous the eggplant is not. However the leaves, which contain solanine, if consumed in large quantities, are potentially poisonous.

There are a variety of eggplant cultivars which range in colour from almost black-skinned, through purple to white skinned.

Shapes also vary with cultivar and eggplants can be oval, long and slim, or egg shaped. A few cultivars have variegated coloured skin and some are distinctly striped. Miniature cultivars are popular in India.

In addition to these cultivars a genetically engineerd eggplant cultivar is also available which provides resistance against lepidopteran insects (brinhal fruit and shoot borer and fruit borer).

This particular eggplan/aubergine is known as Bt bringal which contains a gene from Bacillus thurningiensis a soil bacterium...link to the full article to learn more.