''Petunia'' is

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 20 species 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 ...

s of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n origin. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word ''petun'', meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language. A tender

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

, most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids ( ''Petunia'' × ''atkinsiana'', also known as ''Petunia'' × ''hybrida'').

Taxonomy

''Petunia'' is a genus in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

, subfamily Petunioideae. Well known members of Solanaceae in other subfamilies include

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

(subfamily Nicotianoideae), and the cape gooseberry,

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

deadly nightshade ''Atropa belladonna'', commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a toxic perennial herbaceous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant (aubergine). It is native to Europe, North ...

and

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

(subfamily Solanoideae). Some botanists place the plants of the genus ''

Calibrachoa ''Calibrachoa'' is a genus of plants in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. They are evergreen short-lived perennials and subshrubs with a sprawling habit, with small petunia-type flowers. They are found across much the same region of South Ame ...

'' in the genus ''Petunia'', but this is not accepted by others. ''Petchoa'' is a hybrid genus derived from crossing ''Calibrachoa'' and ''Petunia''.

Species

Species include:

Ecology

Petunias are generally insect pollinated, with the exception of '' P. exserta'', which is a rare, red-flowered, hummingbird-pollinated species. Most petunias are

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

with 14

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

s and are interfertile with other petunia species, as well as with

. The tubular flowers are favoured by some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species, including the Hummingbird hawk moth.

Cultivation

Petunias can tolerate relatively harsh conditions and hot climates, but not frost. They need at least five hours of sunlight every day and flourish in moist soil and conditions of low atmospheric humidity. They are best grown from seed. Watering once a week should be sufficient in most regions. Hanging baskets and other containers need more frequent watering.Brown, Deborah. “Growing Petunias” University of Minnesota Extension Office. University of Minnesota. 2009. Web. 25 June 2009. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG1120.html Maximum growth occurs in late spring. Applying fertilizer monthly or weekly, depending on the variety, will help the plant grow quickly. In horticulture many terms are used to denote different types of cultivated petunia. These include Grandiflora, Multiflora, Wave (Spreading), Supertunia, Cascadia and Surfinia.

AGM cultivars

The following is a selection of

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

which have received the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

: *='Conblue' *='Conglow' *='Constraw' *='Kleph15313' *'Storm Lavender' *'Storm Pink' *'Storm Salmon' *='Suntosol' *='Sunpurple' *='Kerpril'

Uses

Many species other than ''Petunia'' × ''atkinsiana'' are also gaining popularity in the home garden.Allan M. Armitage, ''Armitage's Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials'' (Portland: Timber Press, 2001). A wide range of flower colours, sizes, and plant architectures are available in both ''Petunia'' × ''atkinsiana'' and other species, listed below:Ellis, Barbara W. ''Taylor's Guide to Annuals''. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1999. Print.

Symbolism and folklore

The Maya and

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

believed that the scent of petunias had the power to ward off underworld monsters and spirits. Their flower-buds were bunched together for magical drinks. According to

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

folklore, Petunias will only thrive where there is "positive energy" and will not grow in places where there is "negativity". When given as a gift, Petunias have (in the language of flowers) two mutually exclusive meanings, symbolising on the one hand being comfortable with someone, and on the other anger and resentment.

Gallery

File:Petunia Flowers (2).jpg, Red and White mixed Petunia. File:Petunia Violet.jpg, Petunia, Violet, In NIT Agartala,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

File:Petunia axillaris-Purple Petunia.JPG, A form of ''

Petunia axillaris ''Petunia axillaris'', the large white petunia, wild white petunia or white moon petunia, is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, genus ''Petunia''. It is native to temperate South America. The plant's flowers, the only white on ...

'' File:Petunia axillaris-White Petunia.JPG, White ''

'' File:Petunia red.jpg, Red Petunia in India File:Petunia Hybrid Bi Color.jpg, A cultivated form File:Niz dvorot od Rašo 2013- 16 maj (107).JPG, Leaves of '' Petunia × atkinsiana'' File:Petunia.jpg, A cultivated form File:Starry night petunia flower in Porto Alegre - Brazil.jpg, ''Starry Night'', found in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. File:Petunia Pink Sky.jpg, Pink Sky Petunia File:Black petunia. II.jpg, Black Petunia File:Field of Pink Petunia.jpg, Pink Petunia in Holambra - Brazil File:Petunia x hybrida.JPG, '' Petunia x hybrida'' File:African Sunset petunias.jpg, alt=, African Sunset, an

orange petunia Orange petunias or A1-DFR petunias are genetically modified organisms which contain a transgene from maize that colors the petunia flowers orange. First created in a 1987 experiment at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Colo ...

created with genetic modification

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q161103 Solanaceae genera Flora of Pakistan Garden plants Taxa named by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu