'Hama' Eggplant

Solanum melongena

Origin: Hama, Syria

Improvement status: Landrace

Seeds per packet: ~25

Germination tested 01/2025: 88%

Life cycle: Annual

This diverse landrace eggplant comes from the Syrian city of Hama, where it was collected in 1949 by Clarence O. Eyer of the Near East Foundation (NEF). NEF was founded in the aftermath of the Armenian genocide in 1915 to provide relief and aid for anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, etc. It was originally called The American Committee for Syrian and Armenian Relief. It still exists today, with programs related to community economic development joining its traditional relief work, and with an expanded mandate to include Africa in its work.

Following Syria's independence in 1946, the new Syrian government requested NEF's assistance with economic development and soon Clarence Eyer — an agriculturist from Indiana — was appointed to direct the agricultural aspects of their rural development program (a woman named Josephine Vogt was appointed to run their "home welfare programs"). In addition to doing the sort of technical assistance work typical of today's agricultural extension offices, Eyer set up a research station and demonstration farm outside Damascus to test different varieties and growing techniques. He also collected seeds from across Syria for use at the research station, and he ultimately sent hundreds of samples to the USDA to become part of the US government's National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). Over 140 of the seed varieties he collected in Syria are still available through the NPGS (including this eggplant).

Eyer's work became less strictly agricultural and more broadly humanitarian following the arrival of tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Syria during and after the Arab-Israeli war and the partition of Palestine in 1948, events marked by the destruction of Palestinian villages, expropriation of Palestinian homes and lands, and the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people from their homeland. During this period, known to Palestinians as the "naqba" (or "catastrophe"), NEF played a major role in providing food, shelter, medical care, and other assistance — including tools and seeds — for Palestinian refugees forced to start over on the outskirts of Syrian towns and cities.

Most of that story has little to do with this specific eggplant, but the broader context is certainly part of this special eggplant's history. This is one of two eggplant collections from Hama made by Eyer in 1949 — this one ('Hama No. 16') with fruit simply described as "long" and the other one ('Hama No. 17') as "round." From our limited experience growing this rare variety, the fruit are mostly purple, but a few plants produce white fruit (apologies for not getting a photo of the white ones!). Most of them are elongated, but some are more round too (as shown in second photo), likely a result of the two original varieties not being kept in isolation from each other or other varieties (perhaps back in Syria, or perhaps while in the USDA's care).

Our seed was grown by EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman at the EFN flagship farm in Elmer, NJ. Plants were unirrigated but nevertheless managed to thrive, even through an extended drought.

With the Syrian Civil War finally over — though sectarian violence and political uncertainty remain — we are working to return this and other Syrian varieties to Syrian farmers as soon as possible.