Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs to 80 cm tall; stems glabrate, woody in age. Leaves solitary or paired, mostly ovate, 4-13 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, apically short acuminate or acute, basally narrowed, entire, glabrate; petiole 4-7 cm long. Inflorescences mostly solitary flowers in leaf axils; pedicel mostly bent at apex, 1-2 cm long. Flowers with calyx cupular, undulate or denticulate, 2-3 mm long; corolla white, 1-1.5 cm long, anthers purplish, 1.8-2 mm long. Berry red (orange, yellow, or purple in cultivation), variously shaped, 0.2-15 cm across, pungent or not; seeds numerous, pale yellow, discoid or reniform, 3-5 mm across.

KAOHSIUNG: Liukuei to Meinung, Chen 350. PINGTUNG: Pingung City, Chang 9226; Kankao to Manchuo, Chuang,& Kao 3101. TAITUNG: Lutao Is., Peng 7617.

Native to Mexico and South America, widely cultivated and naturalized throughout the world. Cultivated plants have fruits of various color and shape. This species includes forms with sweet or pungent fruits. In Taiwan, commonly cultivated and occasionally escaping.