Solanaceae

Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes a number of important agricultural crops, although many species are toxic plants. The family is also informally known as the nightshade or potato family. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear. Most likely, the name comes from the perceived resemblance that some of the flowers bear to the sun and its rays, and in fact a species of Solanum (Solanum nigrum) is known as the "sunberry". Alternatively, the name has been suggested to originate from the Latin verb solari, meaning "to soothe". This presumably refers to soothing pharmacological properties of some of the psychoactive species of the family.

The family includes Datura, Mandragora (mandrake), Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Lycium barbarum (wolfberry), Physalis philadelphica (tomatillo) , Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry flower), Capsicum (chili pepper, bell pepper), Solanum (potato, tomato, eggplant), Nicotiana (tobacco), and Petunia. With the exception of tobacco (Nicotianoideae) and petunia (Petunioideae), most of the economically important genera are contained in the subfamily Solanoideae.

Many members of the Solanaceae family are used by humans, and are important sources of food, spice and medicine. However, Solanaceae species are often rich in alkaloids whose toxicity to humans and animals ranges from mildly irritating to fatal in small quantities.