Eggplant (Solanum melongena), or aubergine, is a species of nightshade, grown for its edible fruit. Eggplant is the common name in North America, Australia and New Zealand, but British English uses the French word aubergine.It is known in South Asia and South Africa as brinjal. br br The fruit is widely used in cooking. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato and the potato. It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species, the thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications, one in South Asia and one in East Asia.