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a friend of mine has these growing in his garden, his not really sure where he got the seeds from. basically it has tomatoes on it and spikes on the back of the leaf

he didn't eat any because he's afraid they might be poisonous.

tomato with spikes plant tomato with spikes plant tomato with spikes tomato with spikes tomato with spikes

Omu
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It's the African Eggplant, Solanum Aethiopicum. They are edible, even the leaves apparently. The fruits can be used both unripe and ripe, though I do not know anything about specifics for preparation. Being in the Solanum family, it might be wise to investigate possible poisonous plant parts, if that information is available.

Barry Cosemans
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    found this also, seems to be called "pumpkin on a stick" https://www.gardensall.com/pumpkin-on-a-stick/ – Omu Sep 24 '19 at 20:07
  • They're also know as Ethiopian eggplants. Some people just call them eggplants, along with the other usual species of eggplant. The ones I grew from the following page didn't have spikes on their leaves, though: https://www.rareseeds.com/aubergine-du-burkina-faso-eggplant/submit-review/ – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Sep 26 '19 at 05:04
  • There are 3 main varieties, with small differences in fruits and leaves. – Barry Cosemans Sep 26 '19 at 05:07