I just saw the name on a low desert planting guide, and I’ve never heard of them.
So I looked them up, but I want to see if any of you guys had grown them, and what to expect when I try.
I have not, but I am interested in what you find out!
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Ha ha- I guess not!
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Interesting. I don’t remember these at all during my time in Arizona. Now I have to look and see if anyone grows them here in Oregon.
Cool!
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Calling it a “huckleberry” is more marketing than flavor. There’s a bunch of Solanum “species” out there (including S. nigrum, with a confusing pile of names: Garden huckleberry, Wonderberry, a yellow-fruited one. They like hot sun, seem to do ok in humid areas and are fairly bland until cooked. I don’t really trust them, since there are wild races nearby which are high in toxins, especially solanine. Solanum retroflexum (syn. S x burbankii) is another, similar species which includes the Wonderberry, which, despite historical claims, seems unlikely to have been bred by Luther Burbank. Both species are potentially toxic if eaten unripe. Ripe, they’re bland, unripe, they’re toxic. Very ripe, aged fruit is best.
I’ve heard better reports on flavor from only the cooked fruits of Solanum melanocerasum, yet another Garden huckleberry. That one might be worth growing some day. Since blueberries grow well here, most years, there’s little incentive! The latin and scientific names are often jumbled up!
Solanine adversely affects some folks and can cause arthritic, sore joint pain or toxic responses, like nausea, vomiting and cramps if consumed in quantity. All of them have tremendous potential to become weeds, especially if birds eat the fruits.
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I had a feeling you’d be well-versed in them. Kinda sounds like it’d just be a waste of precious water out here in southern AZ when we’re in the middle of a nasty drought. Thank you for all the information.
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Me neither, and I grew up here.
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I may try the S. melanocerasum someday. The Latin looks like it means black or dark cherry. I’ll report if it’s any good using one of the extended ripening methods. My hopes are not high on this one.
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Sadly I had to google chichiquelites being I thought they were those annoying seven year insects and astonished anyone would grow them. 
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