SOLANACEAE

(POTATO/BRINJAL/
NIGHTSHADE FAMILY)
 SYSTEMATIC POSITION

• CLASS : DICOTYLEDONS
• SUBCLASS : GAMOPETALAE
• SERIES : BICARPELLATAE
• ORDER : POLEMONIALES
• FAMILY : SOLANACEAE
INTRODUCTION
• The family solanaceae consists of about 102
genera and 2500 species
• Family has wide geographical distribution in
temperate and tropical regions
DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS
• Herbs, shrubs or small trees
• Leaves alternate, simple, exstipulate, entire or pinnatifid
• Inflorescence cyme or cymose panicle
• Flowers bisexual, regular, rarely zygomorphic, hypogynous
• Sepals 5, persistent or accrescent, become enlarged in fruit
• Petals 5, gamopetalous, connate in
a rotate, funnel shaped or bell-
shaped corolla; imbricate,
sometimes plicate or convolute
• Stamens 5, alternate with the
corolla lobes, free, epipetalous,
anthers with apical porous or
longitudinal dehiscence
• Carpels 2, syncarpous, obliquely,
placed, ovary 2-chambered or more
• Stigma capitate or slightly bilobed
• Fruit many seeded berry; sometimes Capsule
• Seeds albuminous, flat, compressed; embryo curved
 Common plants
• Solanum torvum Solanum xanthocarpum
…Common plants
• Datura stramonium Withania somnifera
…Common plants
• Nicotiana tabacum Lycopersicon esculentum
 …Common plants
• Cestrum nocturnum Physalis minima Atropa belladona
…Common plants
Solanum melongena Capsicum annum
 HABIT
• Mostly annual or perennial herbs, sometimes small
shrubs or trees.
• Some may be climbing shrubs (Solanum trilobatum)
 ROOT, STEM & LEAVES
• ROOTS – Tap root, branched
• STEM – Herbaceous, erect,
branched, hairy or prickly,
underground in potato forming
tubers
• LEAVES – Simple, exstipulate,
alternate in vegetative region and
opposite in the floral region.
INFLORESCENCE
• Inflorescence is usually terminal, sometimes axillary or extra-
axillary.
• It is usually of the cymose type, tending to monochasial condition in
the ultimate branches.
• In Nicotiana, it is a panicle
FLOWERS
• Flowers are bisexual, hypgogynous,
pentamerous with a reduction in two
members in the innermost whorl.
• In Nicandra, flowers are pentamerous
throughout
• The flowers are almost regular but for
the oblique position of the ovary
(obliquely zygomorphic)
• Flower is extremely zygomorphic in
Schizanthus which has an irregular
bilobed corolla
CALYX
• The calyx consist of 5 sepals which
are fused (gamosepalous).
• The aestivation is valvate.
• The calyx in some plants
(Solanum) is persistent and much
enlarged in fruit.
• In Physalis calyx is accrescent
• The lobes of calyx are valvate in
bud.
COROLLA
• The corolla consists of 5 petals. Corolla is
gamopetalous and funnelshaped (Datura),
campanulate (Physalis), rotate (Solanum). The
aestivation is valvate or twisted. Sometimes the
corolla is strongly zygomorphic and may become bi-
lipped as in Schizanthus.
ANDROECIUM
• Stamens are five in number, epipetalous on
the corolla tube and alternate with the lobes.
• They are usually unequal in height.
• In some zygomorphic forms there are only
four stamen (Salpiglossis) or two fertile
stamen and remaining are staminodes
(Schizanthus).
• The anther lobes are large, ovate or oblong,
dithecous, basifixed and introse.
• The dehiscence may be longitudinal (Datura)
or apical pores (Solanum).
 GYNOECIUM

• Gynoecium consists of bicarpellary and syncarpous

ovary which is oblique in position due to the tilting
of posterior carpel to the right and anterior carpel to
the left at an angle of 45o.
• The ovary is usually bilobular, occasionally unilocular
(Capsicum).
• It becomes tetralocular due to the development of
false septum in Datura.
• There are numerous ovules arranged on axile
placentation on swollen placenta.
• The style is linear, terminal and stigma is capitate or
shortly lobed.
• A hypogynous nectariferous disc is usually present at
the base of the ovary
 FRUITS
• The fruit is mostly berry sometimes enclosed within an
inflated bladderlike calyx (Physalis) or it is a capsule
which dehisces by valves (Datura) or circumcised above
the middle (Hyoscyamus).
• Fruit is a capsule in Datura and Nicotiana.
 SEEDS
The seeds are numerous,
endospermic with curved or
straight (Nicotiana) embryo.
 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
• Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco) is an
important plant cultivated for the
commercial tobacco. Leaves are variously
used for stimulation and contain nicotine
• Poisonous alkaloids are produced from
Datura stramonium (Stramonine)
• Atropine (from the leaves and roots of
Atropa belladonna and Hyoscyamine
from the seeds and leaves of Hyoscyamus
niger are used in medicine
• Fruits of Lycopersicon esculentum
(tomato), Solanum melongena
(brinjal), Solanum torvum etc are
used as vegetables
• Fruits of Capsicum frutescens,
Capsicum annum are chillies and
are used as condiments
• Cestrum nocturnum, Cestrum
diurnum, Petunia etc. are garden
plants
• Tubers of Solanum tuberosum are
of vegetable value.
• Fruits of Solanum nigrum, Solanum
verbascifolium, Solanum indicum and
Solanum xanthocarpum, are eaten by
natives
• Physalis peruviana is cultivated for the
sweet edible fruits
• Solanum xanthocarpum is used in
bronchial diseases
• Solanum indicum fruits are used in colic
and roots in tooth and lung related
disorders.