Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has identified a new spiny eggplant species from Kalimantan, highlighting Indonesia’s rich but still underdocumented biodiversity, with the findings published in the international journal Taprobanica in 2026.
The species, named Solanum kalimantanense T. Djarwaningsih, E.L. Agustiani and M.R. Hariri, was identified by researchers from BRIN’s Research Centre for Biosystematics and Evolution and the Research Centre for Ecology.
“This finding shows Indonesia still holds enormous biodiversity potential that has not been fully documented scientifically, including among plant groups already known and used by local communities,” said Research Centre for Biosystematics and Evolution’s researcher Muhammad Rifqi Hariri.
Local communities have long known the plant as “terong asam” or “terong dayak” and used it as food. Its fruit is widely sold at Banjarmasin’s floating markets and commonly cooked as a vegetable dish in South Kalimantan.
Initial assessments indicate the species has a limited population and could qualify as vulnerable under criteria set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature./.
