The Habitat of Solanaceae

The Solanaceae family comprise about 3000 to 4000 species of

flowering plants, placed within about 90 genera (NHM 2008). They are
found on all continents except Antarctica, with major species diversity
in Central and South America, with greatest species diversity near the
equator (NHM 2008; SGN). Other ares of diversity
include Australia and Africa (NHM 2008). The Solanaceae are
believed to have arisen in the Andean/Amazonian regions of South
America (SGN). They occur and are believed to have evolved in very
diverse habitats, including rain forests that receive over three meters
of rainfall annual, todeserts that receive almost no rainfall, to
mountains that experience snow and subfreezing temperatures
(SGN).
Members of this family vary greatly in terms of morphology, ecology,
and habit. In general, they exhibit the following morphological
characteristics. Flowers are typically conical or funnelform with five
petals, usually fused. The leaves are alternate, often with a hairy or
clammy surface. Solanaceous plants produce a fruit that is either
a berry, as in the case of the tomato or wolfberry, or a dehiscent
(breaks open upon drying, or dehiscing, releasing the seeds) capsule
as in the case of Datura. The seeds are usually round and flat, being
two to four millimeters in diameter. The stamens are usually present in
multiples of four (most commonly four or eight). The ovaries are
inferior. The hypogynus gynoecium is a syncarp located obliquely in
relation to the median.
Many of the plants are edible, while others are poisonous. Some have
both edible and toxic parts. The potato, a well-known food crop,
likewise contains glycoalkaloids, toxic compounds of which the most
prevalent are solanine and chaconine. Cooking at high temperatures
(over 170 °C or 340 °F) partly destroys these. The concentration of
glycoalkaloid in wild potatoes and raw potatoes suffices to produce
toxic effects in humans.
The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the
nightshade plant," but the further etymology of that word is unclear; it
has been suggested it originates from the Latin verb solari, meaning
"to soothe." This would presumably refer to alleged
soothingpharmacological properties of some of the
psychoactive species found in the family. It is more likely, however,
that the name comes from the perceived resemblance that some of
the flowers bear to the sun and its rays, and in fact a species of
Solanum (Solanum nigrum) is known as the sunberry.
The family is also informally known as the nightshade or potato family.
The family includes the Datura or Jimson weed, eggplant,mandrake,
deadly nightshade or belladonna, capsicum (paprika, chili pepper),
potato, tobacco, tomato, and petunia.

"Nightshade" redirects here. For other uses, see Nightshade (disambiguation).

Solanaceae

A flowering Brugmansia suaveolens

from the US Botanic Garden

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

(unranked): Angiosperms

(unranked): Eudicots

(unranked): Asterids

Order: Solanales

Family: Solanaceae
Juss.

Subfamilies
 Cestroideae
Goetzeoideae
Nicotianoideae
Petunioideae
Schizanthoideae
Schwenckioideae
Solanoideae[1]

Fruits including tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, and chili peppers.

The Solanaceae, or nightshades, are an economically

important family offlowering plants. The family ranges from annual and
perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a
number of important agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and
ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent alkaloids, and some
are highly toxic, but many cultures eat nightshades, in some cases as staple
foods. The family belongs to the orderSolanales, in the asterid
group dicotyledons (Magnoliopsida).[2] The Solanaceae consists of about 98
genera and some 2,700 species,[3] with a great diversity
ofhabitats, morphology and ecology.
The name Solanaceae derives from the genus Solanum, "the nightshade
plant". The etymology of the Latin word is unclear. The name may come from
a perceived resemblance of certain solanaceous flowers to the sun and its
rays. At least one species of Solanum is known as the "sunberry".
Alternatively, the name could originate from the Latin verb solari, meaning "to
soothe", presumably referring to the soothing pharmacological properties of
some of the psychoactive species of the family.
The family has a worldwide distribution, being present on all continents
exceptAntarctica. The greatest diversity in species is found in South
America and Central America.
The Solanaceae include a number of commonly collected or cultivated
species. The most economically important genus of the family[citation
needed] is Solanum, which contains the potato (S. tuberosum, in fact, another

common name of the family is the "potato family"), the tomato (S.
lycopersicum), and the eggplant or aubergine (S. melongena). Another
important genus, Capsicum, produces both chili peppers andbell peppers.
The genus Physalis produces the so-called groundcherries, as well as
the tomatillo(Physalis philadelphica), the Cape gooseberry and the Chinese
lantern. The genusLycium contains the boxthorns and the wolfberry Lycium
barbarum. Nicotianacontains, among other species, tobacco. Some other
important members of Solanaceae include a number of ornamental plants
such as Petunia, Browallia, and Lycianthes, the source of psychoactive
alkaloids, Datura, Mandragora (mandrake), andAtropa belladonna (deadly
nightshade). Certain species are widely known for their medicinal uses, their
psychotropic effects, or for being poisonous.
Most of the economically important genera are contained in the
subfamily Solanoideae, with the exceptions of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum,
Nicotianoideae) and petunia (Petunia × hybrida, Petunioideae),
Many of the Solanaceae, such as tobacco and petunia, are used as model
organisms in the investigation of fundamental biological questions at
the cellular, molecular, and genetic levels.