The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...
s 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 ornamentals. Many members of the family contain potent
alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Th ...
s, and some are highly
toxic, but many—including
tomatoes,
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 Un ...
es,
eggplant,
bell 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 ...
s—are used as
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...
. The family belongs to the order
Solanales, in the
asterid group and class
Magnoliopsida (
dicotyledons).
The Solanaceae consists of about 98 genera and some 2,700 species,
with a great diversity of
habitats,
morphology and
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
.
The name Solanaceae derives from the genus ''
Solanum''. The etymology of the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
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 ''solare'', meaning "to soothe", presumably referring to the soothing
pharmacological properties of some of the
psychoactive species of the family.
This family has a worldwide distribution, being present on all continents except
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...
. The greatest diversity in species is found in
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 souther ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. In 2017, scientists reported on their discovery and analysis of a fossil species belonging to the living genus ''
Physalis'', ''
Physalis infinemundi'', found in the
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...
n region of Argentina, dated to 52 million years ago. The finding has pushed back the earliest appearance of the plant family Solanaceae.
The Solanaceae family includes a number of commonly collected or cultivated species. The most economically important genus of the family is ''Solanum'', which contains the
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 Un ...
(''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 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 ...
s and
bell peppers.
The genus ''Physalis'' produces the so-called groundcherries, as well as the
tomatillo (''Physalis philadelphica''), ''
Physalis peruviana'' (Cape gooseberry) and ''
Physalis alkekengi'' (Chinese lantern). The genus ''
Lycium'' contains the boxthorns and the goji berry, ''
Lycium barbarum''. ''
Nicotiana'' contains, among other species,
tobacco.
Some other important members of Solanaceae include a number of ornamental plants such as ''
Petunia'', ''
Browallia'', and ''
Lycianthes
''Lycianthes'' is a genus of plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae), found in both the Old World and the New World, but predominantly in the latter. It contains roughly 150 species, mostly from tropical America, with 35-40 species in ...
'', and sources of psychoactive alkaloids, ''
Datura'', ''
Mandragora'' (mandrake), and ''
Atropa 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.
Etymology and pronunciation
The name "Solanaceae" () comes to
international scientific vocabulary from
New Latin
New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy ...
, from ''
Solanum'', the
type genus, + ''
-aceae'',
a standardized
suffix for plant family names in modern taxonomy. The genus name comes from the
Classical Latin
Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later pe ...
word ''
solanum'', referring to nightshades (especially ''
Solanum nigrum''), "probably from
sol
Sol or SOL may refer to:
Astronomy
* The Sun
Currency
* SOL Project, a currency project in France
* French sol, or sou
* Argentine sol
* Bolivian sol, the currency of Bolivia from 1827 to 1864
* Peruvian sol, introduced in 1991
* Peruvian sol ( ...
, 'sun', + ''
-anum'', neuter of ''
-anus''."
Description
Plants in the Solanaceae can take the form of herbs,
shrubs,
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s,
vines and lianas, and sometimes
epiphytes. They can be
annuals,
biennials, or
perennials, upright or decumbent. Some have subterranean
tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
s. They do not have
laticifers, nor
latex, nor coloured
saps.
They can have a basal or terminal group of leaves or neither of these types. The
leaves are generally alternate or alternate to opposed (that is, alternate at the base of the plant and opposed towards the
inflorescence). The leaves can be herbaceous, leathery, or transformed into
spines. The leaves are generally
petiolate
Petiole may refer to:
*Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem
*Petiole (insect anatomy)
In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...
or subsessile, rarely sessile. They are frequently inodorous, but some are aromatic or fetid. The foliar lamina can be either simple or compound, and the latter can be either pinnatifid or ternate. The leaves have reticulated venation and lack a basal
meristem. The laminae are generally dorsiventral and lack secretory cavities. The
stomata are generally confined to one of a leaf's two sides; they are rarely found on both sides.
The
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
s are generally
hermaphrodites, although some are
monoecious,
andromonoecious, or
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...
species (such as some ''Solanum'' or ''Symonanthus'').
Pollination is entomophilous. The flowers can be solitary or grouped into terminal, cymose, or axillary inflorescences. The flowers are medium-sized, fragrant (''Nicotiana''), fetid (''Anthocercis''), or inodorous. The flowers are usually
actinomorphic, slightly
zygomorphic, or markedly zygomorphic (for example, in flowers with a bilabial corolla in ''Schizanthus'' species). The irregularities in symmetry can be due to the
androecium
The stamen ( plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fila ...
, to the
perianth, or both at the same time. In the great majority of species, the flowers have a differentiated perianth with a calyx and
corolla
Corolla may refer to:
*Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit
*Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name
* Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown
* ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...
(with five sepals and five petals, respectively) an androecium with five
stamens and two
carpels forming a
gynoecium
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistil ...
with a superior
ovary (they are therefore referred to as pentamers and tetracyclic). The
stamens are
epipetalous and are typically present in multiples of four or five, most commonly four or eight. They usually have a hypogynous disk. The calyx is gamosepalous (as the sepals are joined forming a tube), with the (4)5(6) segments equal, it has five lobes, with the lobes shorter than the tube, it is persistent and often accrescent. The corolla usually has five petals that are also joined forming a tube. Flower shapes are typically rotate (wheel-shaped, spreading in one plane, with a short tube) or tubular (elongated cylindrical tube), campanulated or funnel-shaped.
The androecium has (2)(4)5(6) free stamens within it opposite sepals (they alternate with the petals). They are usually fertile or, in some cases (for example in Salpiglossideae) they have
staminodes. In the latter case, there is usually either one staminode (''Salpiglossis'') or three (''Schizanthus''). The anthers touch on their upper end forming a ring, or they are completely free, dorsifixed, or basifixed with poricide dehiscence or through small longitudinal cracks. The stamen's
filament
The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning " thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including:
Astronomy
* Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe
* Solar filament ...
can be filliform or flat. The stamens can be inserted inside the coralline tube or exserted. The plants demonstrate simultaneous microsporogenesis, the microspores are tetrad, tetrahedral, or isobilateral. The pollen grains are bicellular at the moment of dehiscence, usually open and angular.
The gynoecium is bicarpelar (rarely three- or five-locular) with a
superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
ovary and two
locules, which may be secondarily divided by false
septa, as is the case for Nicandreae and Datureae. The gynoecium is located in an oblique position relative to the flower's median plane. They have one
style and one
stigma; the latter is simple or bilobate. Each locule has one to 50 ovules that are anatropous or hemianatropous with axillar placentation. The development of the
embryo sack can be the same as for ''Polygonum'' or ''Allium'' species. The embryo sack's
nuclear poles
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear space
*Nuclear ...
become fused before
fertilization
Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a new individual organism or offspring and initiate its development. Pro ...
. The three antipodes are usually ephemeral or persistent as in the case of ''Atropa''. The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...
can be a
berry as in the case of the tomato or wolfberry a
dehiscent capsule as in ''Datura'', or a
drupe. The fruit has
axial placentation. The capsules are normally septicidal or rarely loculicidal or valvate. The
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...
s are usually endospermic, oily (rarely starchy), and without obvious hairs. The seeds of most Solanaceae are round and flat, about in diameter. The embryo can be straight or curved, and has two cotyledons. Most species in the Solanaceae have 2n=24
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 ar ...
s,
but the number may be a higher multiple of 12 due to
polyploidy. Wild
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 Un ...
es, of which there are about 200, are predominantly diploid (2 × 12 = 24 chromosomes), but triploid (3 × 12 = 36 chromosomes), tetraploid (4 × 12 = 48 chromosomes), pentaploid (5 × 12 = 60) and even hexaploid (6 × 12 = 72 chromosome) species or populations exist. The cultivated species ''Solanum tuberosum'' has 4 × 12 = 48 chromosomes. Some ''Capsicum'' species have 2 × 12 = 24 chromosomes, while others have 26 chromosomes.
Diversity of characteristics
Despite the previous description, the Solanaceae exhibit a large morphological variability, even in their reproductive characteristics. Examples of this diversity include:
[ Hunziker, A.T. 1979: South American Solanaceae: a synoptic review. In: D'ARCY, W.G., 1979: The Biology and Taxonomy of the Solanaceae. Linn. Soc. Symp. Ser. 7: p 48-85. Linnean Soc. & Academic Press; London.][Balken, J.A. THE PLANT FAMILY SOLANACEAE:
FRUITS IN SOLANACEAE ]
* The number of carpels that form the gynoecium
In general, the Solanaceae have a gynoecium (the female part of the flower) formed of two carpels. However, ''Melananthus'' has a monocarpelar gynoecium, there are three or four carpels in ''
Capsicum'', three to five in ''
Nicandra'', some species of ''
Jaborosa
''Jaborosa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. There are about 23 species, all native to South America, where they are distributed from Peru to Patagonia. Most occur in the Andes. Most can be found in Argen ...
'' and ''
Trianaea
''Trianaea'' is a genus of the plant family Solanaceae. It occurs in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It is placed in the subfamily Solanoideae, tribe Juanulloeae.
Species
, Plants of the World Online accepted three species:
*''Trianaea brevipes'' (Cu ...
'' and four carpels in ''Iochroma umbellatum''.
* The number of locules in the ovary
The number of locules in the ovary is usually the same as the number of carpels. However, some species occur in which the numbers are not the same due to the existence of false septa (internal walls that subdivide each locule), such as in ''Datura'' and some members of the Lycieae (the genera ''
Grabowskia'' and ''Vassobia'').
* Type of ovules and their number
The ovules are generally inverted, folded sharply backwards (anatropous), but some genera have ovules that are rotated at right angles to their stalk (campilotropous) as in ''Phrodus'', ''
Grabowskia'' or ''Vassobia''), or are partially inverted (hemitropous as in ''
Cestrum'', ''Capsicum'', ''
Schizanthus'' and ''Lycium''). The number of ovules per locule also varies from a few (two pairs in each locule in ''Grabowskia'', one pair in each locule in ''Lycium'') and very occasionally only one ovule is in each locule as for example in ''Melananthus''.
* The type of fruit
The fruits of the great majority of the Solanaceae are berries or capsules (including pyxidia) and less often drupes.
Berries are common in the subfamilies Cestroideae, Solanoideae (with the exception of ''Datura'', ''Oryctus'', ''Grabowskia'' and the tribe Hyoscyameae) and the tribe Juanulloideae (with the exception of ''
Markea
''Markea'' is a genus of plant in 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 agric ...
'').
Capsules are characteristic of the subfamilies Cestroideae (with the exception of ''
Cestrum'') and Schizanthoideae, the tribes Salpiglossoideae and Anthocercidoideae, and the genus ''Datura''. The tribe Hyoscyameae has pyxidia.
Drupes are typical of the Lycieae tribe and in Iochrominae.
Alkaloids
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a class of basic
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Th ...
s are nitrogenous organic substances produced by plants as a
secondary metabolite and which have an intense physiological action on animals even at low doses. Solanaceae are known for having a diverse range of alkaloids. To humans, these alkaloids can be desirable, toxic, or both. The
tropanes are the most well-known of the alkaloids found in the Solanaceae. The plants that contain these substances have been used for centuries as poisons. However, despite being recognized as poisons, many of these substances have invaluable pharmaceutical properties. Many species contain a variety of alkaloids that can be more or less active or poisonous, such as
scopolamine,
atropine,
hyoscyamine, and
nicotine. They are found in plants such as henbane (''
Hyoscyamus albus
''Hyoscyamus albus'', the white henbane or yellow henbane, is a plant in the family of Solanaceae. It is native to Southern Europe, North Africa, West Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger ...
''), belladonna (''
Atropa belladonna''), jimson weed (''
Datura stramonium''), mandrake (''
Mandragora autumnalis''), tobacco, and others. Some of the main types of alkaloids are:
*
Solanine: A
toxic glycoalkaloid with a bitter taste, it has the formula C
45H
73NO
15. It is formed by the alkaloid solanidine with a
carbohydrate
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ...
side chain. It is found in leaves, fruit, and tubers of various Solanaceae such as the potato and tomato. Its production is thought to be an adaptive defence strategy against herbivores.
Substance intoxication from solanine is characterized by gastrointestinal disorders (
diarrhoea,
vomiting
Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose.
Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteri ...
, abdominal pain) and neurological disorders (
hallucination
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...
s and
headache). The
median lethal dose is between 2 and 5 mg/kg of body weight. Symptoms become manifest 8 to 12 hours after ingestion. The amount of these glycoalkaloids in potatoes, for example, varies significantly depending on environmental conditions during their cultivation, the length of storage, and the variety. The average glycoalkaloid concentration is 0.075 mg/g of potato.
[Zeiger, E. 1998. Solanine and Chaconine. Review of Toxicological Literature. Integrated Laboratory Systems, USA.] Solanine has occasionally been responsible for poisonings in people who ate berries from species such as ''
Solanum nigrum'' or ''
Solanum dulcamara'', or green potatoes.
*
Tropanes: The term "tropane" comes from a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
in which they are found, ''
Atropa'' (the
belladonna genus). ''Atropa'' is named after the
Greek Fate,
Atropos, who cut the thread of life. This nomenclature reflects its toxicity and lethality. They are bicyclic organic nitrogen compounds (
IUPAC nomenclature: 8-methyl-8-azabicyclo
.2.1ctane), with the chemical formula of C
8H
15N. These alkaloids include, among others, atropine,
cocaine,
scopolamine, and
hyoscyamine. They are found in various species, such as mandrake (''
Mandragora officinarum'' and
M. autumnalis ), black henbane or stinking nightshade (''
Hyoscyamus niger''), belladonna (''
Atropa belladonna''), jimson weed or devil's snare (''
Datura stramonium'') and ''
Brugmansia'' , as well as many others in the family Solanaceae.
Pharmacologically
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
, they are the most powerful known
anticholinergics in existence, meaning they inhibit the
neurological signals transmitted by the
endogenous neurotransmitter,
acetylcholine. More commonly, they can halt many types of
allergic reactions. Symptoms of overdose may include
dry mouth,
dilated pupils,
ataxia,
urinary retention,
hallucination
A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinati ...
s,
convulsions
A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a ...
,
coma, and death. Atropine, a commonly used
ophthalmological agent, dilates the pupils and thus facilitates examination of the interior of the eye. In fact, juice from the berries of ''A. belladonna'' were used by Italian courtesans during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
to exaggerate the size of their eyes by causing the dilation of their pupils ("bella donna" means "pretty woman" in Italian). Despite the extreme toxicity of the tropanes, they are useful drugs when administered in extremely small dosages. They can reverse
cholinergic poisoning, which can be caused by overexposure to organophosphate
insecticides and
chemical warfare agents such as
sarin and
VX.
Scopolamine (found in ''
Hyoscyamus muticus'' and ''
Scopolia carniolica''), is used as an
antiemetic against
motion sickness or for people suffering from
nausea as a result of receiving
chemotherapy.
[Sneden, A. The tropane alkaloids. Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design. Virginia Commonwealth University ][Evans, W.C. 1979. Tropane alkaloids of the Solanaceae. En: HAWKES, LESTER and SHELDING (eds.). The biology and taxonomy of the Solanaceae. Linn. Soc. Symp. Ser. 7:241-254. Linnean Soc. & Academic Press., London.] Scopolamine and hyoscyamine are the most widely used tropane alkaloids in pharmacology and medicine due to their effects on the
parasympathetic nervous system. Atropine has a
stimulant effect on the
central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...
and heart, whereas scopolamine has a
sedative effect. These alkaloids cannot be substituted by any other class of compounds, so they are still in demand. This is one of the reasons for the development of an active field of research into the metabolism of the alkaloids, the enzymes involved, and the genes that produce them. Hyoscyamine 6-β-hydroxylase, for example, catalyses the hydroxylation of hyoscyamine that leads to the production of scopolamine at the end of the tropane's biosynthetic pathway. This enzyme has been isolated and the corresponding gene cloned from three species: ''H. niger'', ''A. belladonna'' and '' B. candida''.
*
Nicotine: Nicotine (
IUPAC nomenclature (''S'')-3-(1-methylpyrrolidin-2-yl) pyridine) is a
pyrrolidine alkaloid produced in large quantities in the
tobacco plant (''Nicotiana tabacum''). Edible Solanaceae such as eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers also contain nicotine, but at concentrations 100,000 to 1,000,000 times less than tobacco. Nicotine's function in a plant is to act as a defense against
herbivores, as it is a very effective
neurotoxin
Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function in both developing and matur ...
, in particular against
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s. In fact, nicotine has been used for many years as an
insecticide, though its use is currently being replaced by synthetic molecules derived from its structure. At low concentrations, nicotine acts as a stimulant in mammals, which causes the dependency in smokers. Like the tropanes, it acts on cholinergic neurons, but with the opposite effect (it is an
agonist as opposed to an
antagonist). It has a higher specificity for
nicotinic acetylcholine receptors than other ACh proteins.
*
Capsaicin: Capsaicin (
IUPAC nomenclature 8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-''trans''-6-nonenamide) is structurally different from nicotine and the tropanes. It is found in species of the genus ''
Capsicum'', which includes
chilis and
habaneros and it is the active ingredient that determines the
Scoville rating of these spices. The compound is not noticeably toxic to humans. However, it stimulates specific pain receptors in the majority of mammals, specifically those related to the perception of heat in the
oral mucosa and other
epithelial tissues. When capsaicin comes into contact with these mucosae, it causes a burning sensation little different from a burn caused by fire. Capsaicin affects only mammals, not birds. Pepper seeds can survive the digestive tracts of birds; their fruit becomes brightly coloured once its seeds are mature enough to germinate, thereby attracting the attention of birds that then distribute the seeds. Capsaicin extract is used to make
pepper spray, a useful deterrent against aggressive and peaceful mammals.
Distribution
Even though members of the Solanaceae are found on all
continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
s except Antarctica, the greatest variety of species are found in
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and
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 souther ...
. Centers of diversity also occur in
Australia and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Solanaceae occupy a great number of different
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
s, from
deserts to
rainforests, and are often found in the secondary vegetation that colonizes disturbed areas. In general, plants in this family are of tropical and temperate distribution.
Plant host
The potato tuber moth (''
Phthorimaea operculella'') is an oligophagous insect that prefers to feed on plants of the family Solanaceae, especially the potato plant (''Solanum tuberosum''). Female ''P. operculella'' use the leaves to lay their eggs and the hatched larvae will eat away at the mesophyll of the leaf. After feeding on the foliage, the larvae will then delve down and feed on the tubers and roots of the plant.
Taxonomy
The following taxonomic synopsis of the Solanaceae, including subfamilies, tribes and genera, is based on the most recent
molecular phylogenetics
Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
studies of the family:
Cestroideae (Browallioideae)
This subfamily is characterised by the presence of pericyclic fibres, an androecium with four or five stamens, frequently didynamous. The basic chromosome numbers are highly variable, from x=7 to x=13. The subfamily consists of eight genera (divided into three tribes) and about 195 species distributed throughout the Americas. The genus ''Cestrum'' is the most important, as it contains 175 of the 195 species in the subfamily. The ''Cestreae'' tribe is unusual because it includes taxa with long chromosomes (from 7.21 to 11.511 µm in length), when the rest of the family generally possesses short chromosomes (for example between 1.5 and 3.52 µm in the Nicotianoideae)
* Browallieae
Hunz.
** ''
Browallia''
L., genus with six species distributed throughout the
Neotropical realm to
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
** ''
Streptosolen''
Miers, monotypic genus native to the Andes
* Cestreae tribe
Don, three genera of woody plants, generally shrubs
** ''
Cestrum''
L., some 175 species distributed throughout the Neotropical realm
** ''
Sessea
''Sessea'' is a genus of 19 accepted species of shrubs, small trees and climbers belonging to the subfamily Cestroideae of the plant family Solanaceae. The flowers of ''Sessea'' are so similar to those of '' Cestrum'' that the genera cannot usua ...
''
Ruiz & Pav., 19 species from the Andes
** ''
Vestia''
Willd., monotypic genus from
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
* Salpiglossideae tribe
(Benth.
George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
) Hunz.
** ''
Reyesia
''Reyesia'' is a small genus of four species of flowering plants belonging to the subfamily Cestroideae of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is closely related to the genus ''Salpiglossis'', which provides the ornamental species ''Salpiglossi ...
''
Gay, four species, three confined to northern Chile and one in both northern Chile and northern Argentina.
** ''
Salpiglossis
''Salpiglossis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the subfamily Cestroideae of family Solanaceae. It is closely related to the genus ''Reyesia'', with which it makes up the tribe Salpiglossideae. Species in the genus ''Salpiglossis' ...
''
Ruiz & Pav., two species originating from southern South America
Goetzeoideae
This subfamily is characterized by the presence of drupes as fruit and seeds with curved embryos and large fleshy cotyledons. The basic chromosome number is x=13. It includes four genera and five species distributed throughout the
Greater Antilles
The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, ...
. Some authors suggest their molecular data indicate the monotypic genera ''
Tsoala''
Bosser
Bosser is a surname. It derives from ''bosser'', a Breton word meaning "butcher". Notable people with the surname include:
*Jean Marie Bosser (1922–2013), French botanist
* Jean-Pierre Bosser (born 1959), French army general
* Jean-Pierre Bosser ...
& D'Arcy should be included in this subfamily, endemic to
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
, and ''
Metternichia
''Metternichia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. The only species is ''Metternichia principis'' .
It is native to eastern Brazil.
The genus name of ''Metternichia'' is in honour of Klemens von Mettern ...
'' to the southeast of
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 ...
. Goetzeaceae
Airy Shaw is considered as a synonym of this subfamily.
* ''
Coeloneurum''
Radlk.
Ludwig Adolph Timotheus Radlkofer (19 December 1829, in Munich – 16 February 1927, in Munich), was a Bavarian taxonomist and botanist.
Radlkofer became a physician in 1854 and earned a PhD in botany at Jena the following year. He became an asso ...
, monotypic genus endemic to
Hispaniola
* ''
Espadaea
''Espadaea'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. The only species is ''Espadaea amoena''.
It is native to Cuba.
The genus name is in honour of Juan José Díaz de Espada (1757–1832), a Spanish bishop i ...
''
Rchb., monotypic, from
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
* ''
Goetzea
''Goetzea'' is a genus of plant in the family Solanaceae. It was originally placed by H. Wydler in the family Ebenaceae and named for his teacher the Rev. Johann August Ephraim Goetze.
It was for about half a century included in the now defunct ...
''
Wydler, includes two species from the Antilles
* ''
Henoonia
''Henoonia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. The only species is ''Henoonia myrtifolia''. It is native to Cuba.
The genus name of ''Henonia'' is thought to be in honour of Jacques-Louis Hénon (1802– ...
''
Griseb., monotypic, originating in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
Nicotianoideae
* Anthocercideae
G.Don: This tribe, endemic to Australia, contains 31 species in seven genera. Molecular phylogenetic studies of the tribe indicate it is the sister of ''
Nicotiana,'' and the genera ''Anthocercis, Anthotroche, Grammosolen'', and ''Symonanthus'' are
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...
. Some characteristics are also thought to be derived from within the tribe, such as the unilocular stamens with semicircular opercula, bracteolate flowers, and berries as fruit.
** ''
Anthocercis
''Anthocercis'', commonly known as tailflower, is a genus of shrubs which are endemic to southern temperate Australia with the center of distribution in the South West Botanical Province of Western Australia.George ''et al.''. (1982) All species ...
''
Labill., 10 species, Australia
** ''
Anthotroche''
Endl., four species, Australia
** ''
Crenidium''
Haegi, monotypic genus, Australia
** ''
Cyphanthera''
Miers, 9 species, Australia
** ''
Duboisia''
R.Br., four species, Australia
** ''
Grammosolen
''Grammosolen'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to 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, an ...
''
Haegi, two species, Australia
** ''
Symonanthus
''Symonanthus'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. The genus was circumscribed by Laurence Arnold Robert Haegi in Telopea vol.2 on page 175 in 1981.
The genus name of ''Symonanthus'' is in honour of David Eric Symo ...
''
Haegi, two species, Australia
* Nicotianeae tribe
Dum.
** ''
Nicotiana''
L., genus widely distributed, with 52 American species, 23 Australian, and one African
Petunioideae
Molecular phylogenetics indicates that Petunioideae is the sister
clade of the subfamilies with chromosome number x=12 (
Solanoideae and
Nicotianoideae). They contain calistegins, alkaloids similar to the tropanes. The androecium is formed of four stamens (rarely five), usually with two different lengths. The basic chromosome number of this subfamily can be x=7, 8, 9 or 11. It consists of 13 genera and some 160 species distributed throughout Central and South America. Molecular data suggest the genera originated in Patagonia. ''Benthamiella'', ''Combera'', and ''Pantacantha'' form a clade that can be categorized as a tribe (Benthamielleae) that should be in the subfamily Goetzeoideae.
* ''
Benthamiella''
Speg.
Carlo Luigi Spegazzini, in Spanish Carlos Luis Spegazzini (20 April 1858 – 1 July 1926), was an Italian-born Argentinian botanist and mycologist.
On the 1881/1882 expedition led by Giacomo Bove to explore Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, th ...
, 12 species native to Patagonia
* ''
Bouchetia
''Bouchetia'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.
This genus was named after the malacologist Philippe Bouchet. It has become a synonym of ''Paziella (Bouchetia)'' Houart ...
''
Dunal, three neotropical species
* ''
Brunfelsia
''Brunfelsia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to subfamily Petunioideae of the nightshade family Solanaceae. The 50 or so species have been grouped into the three sections: ''Brunfelsia'' (circa 22 species), ''Franciscea'' (circa 18 spe ...
''
L., around 45 species from the neotropics
* ''
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 ...
''
Cerv. Vicente (Vincente) de Cervantes (Ledrada, Salamanca España; 1755 - México; 1829) was a notable Spanish and Mexican physician and botanist.
Background
Don Vicente Cervantes was a contemporary of Martín Sessé y Lacasta and corresponded with ...
ex La Llave & Lex., consists of 32 species from the neotropics. The morphological data suggest this genus should be included within the ''Petunia''. However, the molecular and cytogenetic data indicate both should be kept separate. In fact, ''Calibrachoa'' has a basic chromosome number x=9, while that of ''Petunia'' is x=7.
* ''
Combera''
Sandw., two species from Patagonia
* ''
Fabiana''
Ruiz & Pav., 15 species native to the Andes
* ''
Hunzikeria''
D'Arcy, three species from the southwest United States and
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
* ''
Leptoglossis
''Leptoglossis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to 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, a ...
''
Benth.
George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
, seven species from western South America
* ''
Nierembergia
''Nierembergia'' ,''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 common name cupflower, is a genus of plants in the nightshade family. It is named after the Spanish Jesuit and mystic Juan Eusebio Nieremberg (1595-1658).
Selected species
* ''Ni ...
''
Ruiz & Pav., 21 species from South America
* ''
Pantacantha''
Speg., monospecific genus from Patagonia
* ''
Petunia''
( Juss.) Wijsman, 18 species from South America
* ''
Plowmania
''Plowmania'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. The only species is ''Plowmania nyctaginoides''.
Fully hardy, fast-growing evergreen climber, stems up to long. It has 4-angled stems, pinnate leaves, up ...
''
Hunz. & Subils, monotypic genus from Mexico and Guatemala
Schizanthoideae
The Schizanthoideae include annual and
biennial plants with tropane alkaloids, without pericyclic fibres, with characteristic hair and pollen grains. The flowers are zygomorphic. The androecium has two stamens and three staminodes, anther dehiscence is explosive. In terms of fruit type, the Schizanthoidae retain the
plesiomorphic fruit form of the family Solanaceae,
capsules, which rely on an
anemochorous, abiotic form of dispersal. This is present in Schizanthoidae due both to the genetic constraints of early divergence (see below) as well as Schizanthus evolution and presence in open habitats.
The embryo is curved. The basic chromosome number is x=10. ''Schizanthus'' is a somewhat atypical genus among the Solanaceae due to its strongly zygomorphic flowers and basic chromosome number. Morphological and molecular data suggest ''Schizanthus'' is a sister genus to the other Solanaceae and diverged early from the rest, probably in the late
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
or in the early
Cenozoic, 50 million years ago.
The great diversity of flower types within ''Schizanthus'' has been the product of the species' adaptation to the different types of pollinators that existed in the Mediterranean, high alpine, and desert ecosystems then present in Chile and adjacent areas of Argentina.
* ''
Schizanthus''
Ruiz & Pav., 12 species originating from Chile.
Schwenckioideae
Annual plants with pericyclic fibres, their flowers are zygomorphic, the androecium has four didynamous stamens or three staminodes; the embryo is straight and short. The basic chromosome number is x=12. It includes four genera and some 30 species distributed throughout South America.
* ''
Heteranthia''
Nees & Mart.
Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botanist and explorer.
Life
Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary.
He graduated PhD f ...
, one species from Brazil
* ''
Melananthus''
Walp., five species from Brazil, Cuba, and Guatemala
* ''
Protoschwenckia''
Soler , monotypic genus from Bolivia and Brazil, some molecular phylogenetic studies have suggested this genus has an uncertain taxonomic position within the subfamily
* ''
Schwenckia''
L., 22 species distributed throughout the neotropical regions of America
Solanoideae
* Capsiceae
Dumort
** ''
Capsicum''
L. includes 40 accepted neotropical species
[
** '']Lycianthes
''Lycianthes'' is a genus of plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae), found in both the Old World and the New World, but predominantly in the latter. It contains roughly 150 species, mostly from tropical America, with 35-40 species in ...
'' (Dunal) Hassler, some 200 species distributed throughout America and Asia
* Datureae G.Don, two genera are perfectly differentiated at both the morphological and molecular levels, ''Brugmansia'' includes tree species, while ''Datura'' contains herbs or shrubs, the latter genus can be divided into three sections: ''Stramonium'', ''Dutra'' and ''Ceratocaulis''. The monotypic genus Trompettia
''Trompettia cardenasiana'' is a species of nightshade that is a spiny shrub bearing very small leaves, by , a yellow trumpet-shaped campanulate flower, measuring about long and globose fruit. The growth habit is somewhat reminiscent of certain ...
has recently been created to accommodate the Bolivian shrub formerly known as '' Iochroma cardenasianum'' - now known to belong to Datureae and not Physaleae as previously thought.
** '' Brugmansia'' Persoon, six species from the Andes
** '' Datura'' L., 12 neotropical species
** ''Trompettia
''Trompettia cardenasiana'' is a species of nightshade that is a spiny shrub bearing very small leaves, by , a yellow trumpet-shaped campanulate flower, measuring about long and globose fruit. The growth habit is somewhat reminiscent of certain ...
'' J.Dupin, Single species from Andean Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
* Hyoscyameae Endl.
** '' Anisodus'' Link, four species from China, 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 ...
and the Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...
** '' Archihyoscyamus'' A.M.Lu, single species from Turkey and Iran.
** '' Atropa'' L., four Euro-Asiatic species
** '' Atropanthe'' Pascher, monotypic genus from China
** '' Hyoscyamus'' L., 10 accepted species[ distributed from the Mediterranean to China
** '' Physochlaina'' G.Don, 6 accepted Euro-Asiatic species][
** '' Przewalskia'' Maxim., 2 species from China
** '' Scopolia'' Jacq., disjunct distribution with two European species and two from ]East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
.
* Jaboroseae Miers
** ''Jaborosa
''Jaborosa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. There are about 23 species, all native to South America, where they are distributed from Peru to Patagonia. Most occur in the Andes. Most can be found in Argen ...
'' Juss., genus that includes 23 species from South America.
* Solandreae Miers
** Subtribe Juanulloinae consists 10 genera of trees and epiphytic shrubs with a neotropical distribution . Some of these genera (''Dyssochroma'', ''Merinthopodium'' and ''Trianaea'') show a clear dependency on various species of bats both for pollination and dispersion of seeds.
*** ''Dyssochroma
''Dyssochroma'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae.
Its native range is Eastern and Southern Brazil.
Species:
*''Dyssochroma atlantica''
*''Dyssochroma longipes''
*''Dyssochroma viridiflorum
''Dyssochroma'' is ...
'' Miers, two species from the south of Brazil
*** ''Hawkesiophyton
''Hawkesiophyton'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. It is also in Solanoideae subfamily, Tribe Solandreae Miers and also Subtribe Juanulloinae.
Its native range is southern Tropical America. It is found in the co ...
'' Hunz. two species from South America
*** ''Juanulloa
''Juanulloa'', the goldfingers, are a genus of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, native to Central and South America.
Species
It is likely that ''Juanulloa'' is polyphyletic. Species currently accepted by The Plant List
The Plant ...
'' Ruiz & Pav., 11 species from South and Central America
*** ''Markea
''Markea'' is a genus of plant in 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 agric ...
'' Rich., 9 species from South and Central America
*** ''Merinthopodium
''Merinthopodium'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to 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, ...
'' J. Donn. Sm. three species originating from South America
*** ''Poortmannia
''Poortmannia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. It is also in Solanoideae subfamily, tribe Solandreae Miers and also subtribe Juanulloinae. The genus has only one known species, ''Poortmannia speciosa'' .
Its n ...
'' Drake, one species, from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (South America)
*** '' Schultesianthus'' Hunz., eight neotropical species
*** ''Trianaea
''Trianaea'' is a genus of the plant family Solanaceae. It occurs in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It is placed in the subfamily Solanoideae, tribe Juanulloeae.
Species
, Plants of the World Online accepted three species:
*''Trianaea brevipes'' (Cu ...
'' Planch. & Linden, six South American species
** Subtribe Solandrinae, a monotypical subtribe, differs from Juanulloinae in that its embryos have incumbent cotyledons and semi-inferior ovaries.
** ''Solandra
''Solandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Daniel C. Solander.
The vines it contains are commonly known as chalice vines and are native to the Caribbean, Mexico an ...
'' Sw., 10 species from the neotropical regions of America
* Lycieae Hunz. has three genera of woody plants, which grow in arid or semiarid climates. The cosmopolitan genus ''Lycium'' is the oldest in the tribe and it has the greatest morphological variability. Molecular phylogenetic studies suggest both ''Grabowskia'' and ''Phrodus'' should be included in the ''Lycium'', and this genus, along with ''Nolana'' and ''Sclerophylax'', form a clade (Lyciina), which currently lacks a taxonomic category. The red fleshy berries dispersed by birds are the main type of fruit in ''Lycium''. The different types of fruit in this genus have evolved from the type of berry just mentioned to a drupe with a reduced number of seeds.
** '' Grabowskia'' Schltdl., three species from South America
** '' Lycium'' L., 83 cosmopolitan species
** '' Phrodus'' Miers, two species endemic to the north of Chile
* Mandragoreae (Wettst.) Hunz. & Barboza tribe does not have a defined systematic position according to molecular phylogenetic studies.
** '' Mandragora'' L., two species from Eurasia
* Nicandreae Wettst. is a tribe with two South American genera. Molecular phylogenetic studies indicate the genera are not interrelated nor are they related with other genera of the family, so their taxonomic position is uncertain.
** '' Exodeconus'' Raf., six species from western South America
** '' Nicandra'' Adans, one species distributed throughout neotropical regions
* Nolaneae Rchb. are mostly herbs and small shrubs with succulent leaves, they have very beautiful flowers that range from white to various shades of blue, their fruit is schizocarpal, giving rise to various nuts.
** '' Nolana'' L., 89 species distributed throughout western South America
* Physaleae Miers, is a large tribe that is the sister of Capsiceae.
** Subtribe Iochrominae (Miers) Hunz., a clade within the Physaleae tribe. contains 37 species, mainly distributed in the Andes, assigned to six genera. The members of this subtribe are characterized by being woody shrubs or small trees with attractive tubular or rotated flowers. They also possess great floral diversity, containing every type is present in the family. Their flowers can be red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, or white. The corolla can be tubular to rotated, with a variation of up to eight times in the length of the tube between the various species.
*** '' Acnistus'' Schott, one species distributed throughout the neotropics
*** '' Dunalia'' Kunth., five species from the Andes
*** '' Eriolarynx'' Hunz., three species from Argentina and Bolivia
*** '' Iochroma'' Benth., 24 species from the Andes
*** '' Saracha'' Ruiz & Pav., two species from the Andes.
*** '' Vassobia'' Rusby, two South American species
** Physalinae (Miers) Hunz. , a monophyletic subtribe, contains 10 genera and includes herbs or woody shrubs with yellow, white, or purple solitary axillary flowers pollinated by bees. Once pollination occurs, the corolla falls and the calyx expands until it entirely covers the boll that is developing (the calyx is called accrescent). In many species, the calyx turns yellow or orange on maturity. The berries contain many greenish to yellow-orange seeds, often with red or purple highlights.
*** '' Brachistus'' Miers, three species from Mexico and Central America
*** ''Chamaesaracha
''Chamaesaracha'' is a genus of perennial herbs in the nightshade family which are known commonly as five eyes. There are around nine species of five eyes, and they are native to the southwestern and western United States and parts of Mexico. The ...
'' (A.Gray) Benth. & Hook., has 10 species from Mexico and Central America.
*** ''Darcyanthus
''Darcyanthus'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. The single known species is Darcyanthus spruceanus (Hunz.) Hunz. ex N.A.Harriman
Its native range is Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.
The genus name of ''Dar ...
'', genus with just 1 species originating in Bolivia and Peru.
*** '' Leucophysalis'' Rydberg, includes 3 species from the south west of the United States and Mexico.
*** '' Margaranthus'' Schlecht., with 1 species from Mexico.
*** '' Oryctes'' S. Watson, monotypic genus from the south west of the United States.
*** '' Physalis'' L., the largest genus of the subtribe, with 85 species distributed through the tropical regions of the Americas and with 1 species in China.
*** ''Quincula
''Quincula'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The sole species it contains, ''Quincula lobata'', is commonly known as Chinese lantern, lobed groundcherry, or purple groundcherry.
This plant is also c ...
'' Raf. with just 1 species from the south west of the United States and from Mexico.
*** ''Trozelia
''Trozelia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. It is also within the ''Physalinae'' (Miers) Hunz. subtribe.
It is native to Ecuador and Peru in western South America.
Known species
According to Kew:
* ''Trozelia ...
'' Raf. with 2 species from Ecuador and Peru.
*** '' Tzeltalia'', genus segregated from ''Physalis'', with 2 species distributed throughout Mexico and Guatemala.
*** '' Witheringia'' L' Heritier, genus with 15 species from neotropical regions.
** Subtribe Salpichroinae, this is a subtribe of Physaleae that includes 16 American species distributed in 1 genera:
*** '' Nectouxia'' Kunth., monotypic genus that is endemic to Mexico.
*** ''Salpichroa
''Salpichroa'' is a genus 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 ...
'' Miers, genus with 15 species from the Andes and other regions of South America.
** Subtribe Withaninae, is a subtribe of Physaleae with a broad distribution, including 9 genera:
*** '' Archiphysalis'' Kuang, with 3 species from China and Japan.
*** '' Athenaea'' Sendtn., which includes 7 species from Brazil.
*** '' Aureliana'' Sendtn., with 5 species from South America.
*** ''Cuatresia
''Cuatresia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to 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 ...
'' Hunz., with 11 neotropical species. Molecular studies indicate that this genus, along with ''Deprea'' and ''Larnax'' has an uncertain taxonomic position.
*** ''Deprea
''Deprea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae.
Its native range is Costa Rica to Western South America.
The genus name of ''Deprea'' is in honour of Alexandre-Armand Desprez (1747–1829), a French doctor and bota ...
'' Raf., with 6 neotropical species.
*** '' Larnax'' Miers, many taxonomists consider it to be a synonym for ''Deprea'', contains 22 species native to the Andes.
*** '' Mellissia'' Hook. f., monotypic genus from Saint Helena with the common name Saint Helena boxwood (genus recently subsumed in ''Withania'')
*** '' Nothocestrum'' A.Gray with 4 species from Hawaii.
*** '' Physaliastrum'' Makino, with 10 Asiatic species (genus recently subsumed in ''Withania'').
*** '' Tubocapsicum'' (Wettst.) Makino, with just one species endemic to China.
*** '' Withania'' Pauq., with 10 species native to the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...
, Africa and Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
.
* Tribe Solaneae. The genera ''Cyphomandra'' Sendtn., ''Discopodium'' Hochst., ''Normania'' Lowe, ''Triguera'' Cav. and ''Lycopersicum'' Mill have been transferred to ''Solanum''. The subtribe is therefore composed of two genera:
** '' Jaltomata'' Schltdl., which contains 50 neotropical species.
** '' Solanum'' L., the largest genus in the family and one of the broadest of the angiosperms, with 1,328 species distributed across the whole world.
''Incertae sedis''
The following genera have not yet been placed in any of the recognized subfamilies within the solanaceas ('' incertae sedis'').
* ''Duckeodendron
''Duckeodendron'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae represented by a single species, ''Duckeodendron cestroides''. A tree reaching 15 to 30 m, it is found in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. Its common names include pincel ...
'' Kuhlmannb, monotypic genus from the Amazon rainforest.
* ''Parabouchetia
''Parabouchetia'' is a poorly known, monotypic genus endemic to Brazil, belonging (most probably) to the nightshade family Solanaceae. The single species, ''Parabouchetia brasiliensis'' is (in the words of the late Professor Armando Theodoro Hun ...
'' Baillon, poorly-known, monotypic genus from 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 ...
.
* ''Pauia
''Pauia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. It only contains one known species, ''Pauia belladonna'' Deb & Ratna Dutta
It is native to the state of Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalaya in India.
T ...
'' Deb. & Dutta, monotypic genus from Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...
in N.E.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 ...
Genera and distribution of species
The Solanaceae contain 98 genera and some 2,700 species. Despite this immense richness of species, they are not uniformly distributed between the genera. The eight most important genera contain more than 60% of the species, as shown in the table below. ''Solanum'' – the genus that typifies the family - includes nearly 50% of the total species of the solanaceas.
Economic importance
The family Solanaceae contains such important food species as the potato ('' Solanum tuberosum''), the tomato ('' Solanum lycopersicum''), the pepper ('' Capsicum annuum'') and the aubergine or eggplant ('' Solanum melongena''). '' Nicotiana tabacum,'' originally from South America, is now cultivated throughout the world to produce tobacco.
Many solanaceas are important weeds in various parts of the world. Their importance lies in the fact that they can host pathogens or diseases of the cultivated plants, therefore their presence increases the loss of yield or the quality of the harvested product. An example of this can be seen with '' Acnistus arborescens'' and ''Browalia americana'' that host thrips, which cause damage to associated cultivated plants,[Masis, C. & Madrigal, R. 1994. Lista preliminar de malezas hospedantes de Thrips
(Thysanoptera) que dañan al ''Chrysanthemum morifolium'' en el valle central de Costa Rica. Agronomía Costarricense 18(1): 99-101. 1994] and certain species of ''Datura'' that play host to various types of virus that are later transmitted to cultivated solanaceas.[Ormeño, J., Sepúlveda R., Rojas, R. Malezas del género ''Datura'' como factor epidemiológico del virus del mosaico de la alfalfa (amv), virus del mosaico del pepino (cmv) y virus y de la papa (pvy) en Solanáceas cultivadas. Agricultura técnica Vol. 66, Nº. 4, 2006, 333-34]
Summary in Spanish
Some species of weeds such as, ''Solanum mauritianum'' in South Africa represent such serious ecological and economic problems that studies are being carried out with the objective of developing a biological control through the use of insects.[Pedrosa-Macedo, J., Olckers, T. & Vitorino, M. 2003. Phytophagous arthropods associated with ''Solanum mauritianum'' Scopoli (Solanaceae) in the first Plateau of Paraná, Brazil: a cooperative project on biological control of weeds between Brazil and South Africa. Neotrop. Entomol. 32: 519-522]
Article in English, with a summary in Portuguese
A wide variety of plant species and their cultivars belonging to the Solanaceae are grown as ornamental trees, shrubs, annuals and herbaceous perennials
/ref> Examples include ''Brugmansia x candida'' ("Angel's Trumpet") grown for its large pendulous trumpet-shaped flowers, or ''Brunfelsia latifolia'', whose flowers are very fragrant and change colour from violet to white over a period of 3 days. Other shrub species that are grown for their attractive flowers are ''Lycianthes rantonnetii'' (Blue Potato Bush or Paraguay Nightshade) with violet-blue flowers and '' Nicotiana glauca'' ("Tree Tobacco") Other solanaceous species and genera that are grown as ornamentals are the petunia ''(Petunia × hybrida)'', '' Lycium, Solanum, Cestrum,'' ''Calibrachoa × hybrida'' and ''Solandra
''Solandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Daniel C. Solander.
The vines it contains are commonly known as chalice vines and are native to the Caribbean, Mexico an ...
.'' There is even a hybrid between ''Petunia'' and ''Calibrachoa'' (which constitutes a new nothogenus called ''× Petchoa'' G. Boker & J. Shaw) that is being sold as an ornamental.[Shaw, J. 2007. A new hybrid genus for ''Calibrachoa'' × ''Petunia'' (Solanaceae). HANBURYANA 2: 50–5]
/ref>The Value of Growing Petchoa SuperCal®. Ornamental News Oct 25 2012
/ref> Many other species, in particular those that produce alkaloids, are used in pharmacology and medicine ''( Nicotiana, Hyoscyamus'', and '' Datura'').
Solanaceae and the genome
Many of the species belonging to this family, among them tobacco and the tomato, are model organisms that are used for research into fundamental biological questions. One of the aspects of the solanaceas' genomics is an international project that is trying to understand how the same collection of genes and proteins can give rise to a group of organisms that are so morphologically and ecologically different. The first objective of this project was to sequence the genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ...
of the tomato. In order to achieve this each of the 12 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 ar ...
s of the tomato's haploid genome was assigned to different sequencing centres in different countries. So chromosomes 1 and 10 were sequenced in the United States, 3 and 11 in China, 2 in Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...
, 4 in Britain, 5 in India, 7 in France, 8 in Japan, 9 in Spain and 12 in Italy. The sequencing of the mitochondrial genome was carried out in Argentina and the chloroplast
A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it ...
genome was sequenced in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
.[International Tomato Sequencing Project Home](_blank)
/ref>[International Solanaceae Genomics Project (SOL), Systems Approach to Diversity and Adaptation.](_blank)
/ref>
See also
* List of plants poisonous to equines
References
*
*
*
* Dimitri, M. 1987. Enciclopedia Argentina de Agricultura y Jardinería. Tomo I. Descripción de plantas cultivadas. Editorial ACME S.A.C.I., Buenos Aires.
*
* Hunziker, Armando T. 2001. The Genera of Solanaceae. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag K.G., Ruggell, Liechtenstein. .
Further reading
*
*
*
*
**
External links
Sol Genomics Network
Solanaceae Network - pictures of plants
Solanaceae Source
- A worldwide taxonomic monograph of all species in the genus Solanum.
Solanaceae of Chile, by Chileflora
i
L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, information retrieval.
http://delta-intkey.com
Solanaceae
in USDA Plants Database.
Flowers in Israel
''SOL Genomics Network'', Universidad de Cornell
Imagines de various species of Solanaceae
Solanaceae de Chile, by Chileflora
Chilli: La especia del Nuevo Mundo
(Article in Spanish by Germán Octavio López Riquelme regarding the biology, nutrition, culture and medical aspects of Chile.
Solanaceae Resources on the Web
* Jäpelt RB, Jakobsen J (2013) Vitamin D in plants: a review of occurrence, analysis, and biosynthesis. Front Plant Sci 4, No. 13
-- Note the reference to higher cholesterol levels (and consequent Vitamin D3 levels) in family ''Solanaceae''
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Asterid families