noun
Chinese scarlet eggplant; tomato-fruit eggplant
Refers to the plant Solanum integrifolium, an ornamental eggplant with small tomato-like fruits. Not commonly eaten.
庭に赤茄子を植えて、観賞用に育てている。
I planted Chinese scarlet eggplants in the garden and grow them for ornamental purposes.
noun
An older or literary name for the common tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). In modern Japanese, トマト is overwhelmingly more common.
See also: トマト
昔はトマトのことを赤茄子と呼ぶこともあった。
In the past, tomatoes were sometimes called 赤茄子.
Compound of 赤 (aka, 'red') + 茄子 (nasu, 'eggplant'), literally 'red eggplant'. The name reflects the red, tomato-like fruits of the plants it refers to.