Cyphomandra betacea 'Yellow Fruit'

Cyphomandra was a formerly accepted genus in the plant family Solanaceae (the nightshades and relative). It used to contain about 35 species native to the Americas from Mexico southwards to Northern Argentina. Recent authors have treated Cyphomandra as a clade within the genus Solanum rather than as a separate genus, uniting the members of the old genus with some other Solanum. This lineage is one among a group related to part of the traditional subgenus Leptostemonum. Thus, if it is preferred to retain the taxon, Cyphomandra is probably best considered a section in Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum. Most grow as shrubs or small trees 2 or 3 metres in height. The best known species is the widely cultivated Tamarillo or tree tomato, but a number of the others are also cultivated as garden plants because of their attractive flowers or fruits. Several other species (e.g. S. cajanumense, S. circinatum, S. sibundoyense) also have fruits that are edible when ripe, and yet others are used as dyestuffs or in folk medicine where they are native.