Flower of eggplant, Solanum melongena

The eggplant, brinjal eggplant, aubergine, melongene, brinjal or guinea squash is a plant of the family Solanaceae and genus "Solanum". It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato. It was domesticated in India from "Solanum incanum".