Description of Some Important Families: Solanaceae
It is a large family, commonly called as the ‘potato family’. It is widely distributed in tropics, subtropics and temperate zones.
Vegetative Characters
- Plants mostly herbs, shrubs and rarely small trees
- Stem: herbaceous rarely woody, aerial; erect, cylindrical, branched, solidor hollow, hairy or glabrous, underground stem in potato (Solanum tuberosum)
- Leaves: alternate, simple, rarely pinnately compound, exstipulate; venation reticulate
Floral Characters
- Inflorescence : Solitary, axillary or cymose as in Solanum
- Flower: bisexual, actinomorphic
- Calyx: sepals five, united, persistent, valvate aestivation
- Corolla: petals five, united; valvate aestivation
- Androecium: stamens five, epipetalous
- Gynoecium: bicarpellary obligately placed, syncarpous; ovary superior, bilocular, placenta swollen with many ovules, axile
- Fruits: berries or capsule
- Seeds: many, endospermous
Floral Diagram:

Economic Importance:
source of food (tomato, brinjal, potato), spices (chilli); medicine (belladonna, ashwagandha); fumigatory (tobacco); ornamentals (petunia)
Gynoecium of solanaceae is bicarpellary syncarpous.
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