Solanacea or Potato family is best known family. Plants are found widely in temperate regions and very abundant in tropical countries plants of the family are potato (Solanum tuberosum), Tomato (hycopersicum esculentum), egg plant (Solanum melongena), Red pepper (capsicum frutescens), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and solanum nigrum (make).
Vegetative characters: Plants are usually herbs or climbing vines in temperate zones but in tropics many shrubby forms are found and a few trees. Production of underground tuber, like potato is expected. Root - tap and branched. Stem-harbaceous erect, branched, hairy or prickly. Underground are potatoes forming tubers. Leaf is alternate in the vegetative and opposite in the floral region, simple but much divided, sometimes pinnatisect in few species, exstipulate. Anatomically the stem shows bi-collateral bundles.
Floral Characters:
Inflorescence: Usually on axillary cyme or combination of cymes, sometimes helicoids.
Flower: Pentamerous, bisexual, rarely unisexual, regular, rarely irregular, hypogynous.
Calyx five, gamopetalous, persistent as in withama, cape-goose berry and egg plant, inferior corolla five gamopetalous sometimes of unequal lengths as in Petunia, rotate or infundibuli form or lobed, inferior, sometimes zygomorphic as in schizanthus.
Anderoecium: Five, sometimes four and didynamous or only 2 (sxhizanthus), Polyandrous, alternating with the petals, anthers often fusing round the style, dehiscence by pores (solanum) or longitudinal shits (Petunia).
Gynoecium: Bicarpellary, syncarpous, usually bilocular becoming multi locular by false septa (Datura), carpels 2, syncarpous, ovary placed obliquely and not in a median plane, superior bilocular or imperfectly 4 locular by false septum. Placutation axile, many ovules in each loculus, rarely ovules fewer (cestrum) or ovary unilocular with single ovule (Henoomia), style single, stigma simple or lobed.
Fruit: Capsule (Datura), berry (solanum migrum) and (lycopersicum).
Seeds mature with abundant endosperm.
Economic importance: Some plants are of food value or of medicinal importance or ornamental.
(1) Solanum tuberosum (Potato) is used as vegetable.
(2) Solanum melongena (Baingan) is used in vegetable.
(3) Solanum nigrum is used in medicine.
(4) Lycopersicum esculatum (Tomato) is used in vegetable.
(5) Nicotiana tobacum (Tambaku) the leaves of plant are used as tobacco.
(6) Datura Alba (Dhatura) seed are narcotic and poisonous.
(7) Petuna Alba is ornamental plant.
(8) Cestum nocturbum (Rat ki Rani) ornamental plant.
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