''Withania'' 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') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the nightshade 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 ...

, with 23 species that are native to parts of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, and 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 Morocc ...

. Two of the species, ''W. somnifera'' (ashwagandha) and ''W. coagulans'' (ashutosh booti), are economically significant, and are cultivated in several regions for their medicinal uses.

Etymology

''Withania'' is thought to have been named in honour of

Henry Witham Henry Thomas Maire Witham FRSE FGS (1779–1844) was a British landowner remembered as an amateur palaeontologist and mineralogist. He was an early researcher into the internal structure of fossil plants. Life He was born Henry Silvertop t ...

, a British geologist and writer on fossil botany beginning in 1830.

Selected species

* ''

Withania adpressa ''Withania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Two of the species, ...

'' Cors. * '' Withania adunensis'' Vierh. * ''

Withania begoniifolia ''Withania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Two of the species, ...

'' (Roxb.) Hunz. & Barboza * ''

Withania chevalieri ''Withania chevalieri'' is a species of flowering plants of the family Solanaceae. The species is endemic to Cape Verde and is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. The specific name refers to the French botanist Auguste Chevalier. Distri ...

'' A.E.Goncalves * ''

Withania coagulans ''Withania coagulans'' ( Sanskrit: ''Rishyagandha'', Tamil: ''Panneer ilai chedi'', Hindi: ''Paneer phool'', Pashto: ''شاپیانگا/مخازور'') is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, native to Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Ind ...

'' (Stocks) Dunal — Ashutosh booti, Indian rennet, ''panirband'', vegetable rennet * ''

Withania frutescens ''Withania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Two of the species, ...

'' (L.) Pauquy * ''

Withania japonica ''Withania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Two of the species, ...

'' (Franch. & Sav.) Hunz. * ''

Withania qaraitica ''Withania qaraitica'' is a shrubby and perennial herb up to one metre tall with bright orange-red seeds patterned with honeycomb-like markings, pale yellowish brown. It has only been found in Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَا ...

'' A.G.Mill. & Biagi * ''

Withania reichenbachii ''Withania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Two of the species, ...

'' Bitter * ''

Withania riebeckii ''Withania riebeckii'' is a species of plant in the family Solanaceae. It is endemic to Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush ...

Schweinf. Georg August Schweinfurth (29 December 1836 – 19 September 1925) was a Baltic German botanist and ethnologist who explored East Central Africa. Life and explorations He was born at Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire. He was ...

* ''

Withania sphaerocarpa ''Withania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands. Two of the species, ...

'' Hepper & Boulos * ''

Withania somnifera ''Withania somnifera'', known commonly as ashwagandha or winter cherry, is an evergreen shrub in the Solanaceae or nightshade family that grows in India, the Middle East, and parts of Africa. Several other species in the genus ''Withania'' are m ...

'' ( L.) Dunal — ashwaganda, Indian ginseng, winter cherry

References

Solanaceae genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Solanales-stub