''Nicandra '' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the family
Solanaceae
The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orn ...
, native to western South America.
[ It was first described by ]Michel Adanson
Michel Adanson (7 April 17273 August 1806) was an 18th-century French botanist and naturalist who traveled to Senegal to study flora and fauna. He proposed a "natural system" of taxonomy distinct from the binomial system forwarded by Linnaeus.
...
in 1763.[ The genus is named for Greek poet ]Nicander
Nicander of Colophon ( grc-gre, Νίκανδρος ὁ Κολοφώνιος, Níkandros ho Kolophṓnios; fl. 2nd century BC), Greek poet, physician and grammarian, was born at Claros (Ahmetbeyli in modern Turkey), near Colophon, where his famil ...
of Colophon, who wrote about plants[ – notably in his poem ''Alexipharmaca'', which treats of poisons and their antidotes.
, ]Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
accepted three species:[
*'' Nicandra john-tyleriana'' S.Leiva & Pereyra
*'' Nicandra physalodes'' (L.) Gaertn.
*'' Nicandra yacheriana'' S.Leiva
From 1763 until 2007, when ''Nicandra john-tyleriana'' was described,][ the only species in the genus was ''Nicandra physalodes''. A third species, ''Nicandra yacheriana'', was described in 2010.][
]
References
Solanoideae
Solanaceae genera
{{Solanales-stub