Solanum


Solanum is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, which include three food crops of high economic importance, the potato, the tomato and the eggplant. It also contains the nightshades and horse nettles, as well as numerous plants cultivated for their ornamental flowers and fruit.
Solanum species show a wide range of growing habits, such as annual and perennials, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon and Cyphomandra are now included in Solanum as subgenera or sections. Thus, the genus today contains roughly 1,500–2,000 species.

Name

The generic name was first used by Pliny the Elder for a plant also known as, most likely S. nigrum. Its derivation is uncertain, possibly stemming from the Latin word, meaning "sun", referring to its status as a plant of the sun.

Nightshades

The species most commonly called nightshade in North America and Britain is Solanum dulcamara, also called bittersweet or woody nightshade. Its foliage and egg-shaped red berries are poisonous, the active principle being solanine, which can cause convulsions and death if taken in large doses. The black nightshade is also generally considered poisonous, but its fully ripened fruit and foliage are cooked and eaten in some areas. The deadly nightshade is not in the genus Solanum, but is a member of the family Solanaceae.

Food crops

Most parts of the plants, especially the green parts and unripe fruit, are poisonous to humans, but many species in the genus bear some edible parts, such as fruits, leaves, or tubers. Three crops in particular have been bred and harvested for consumption by humans for centuries, and are now cultivated on a global scale:
Other species are significant food crops regionally, such as Ethiopian eggplant or gilo, naranjilla or lulo, Turkey berry, Pepino or Pepino Melon, Tamarillo, Wolf apple, and "bush tomatoes".

Ornamentals

The species most widely seen in cultivation as ornamental plants are:
Poisonings associated with certain species of Solanum are not uncommon and may be fatal. However, several species are locally used in folk medicine, particularly by native peoples who have long employed them.

Ecology

Solanum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species – see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Solanum.

Systematics

The genus was established by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Its subdivision has always been problematic, but slowly some sort of consensus is being achieved.
The following list is a provisional lineup of the genus' traditional subdivisions, together with some notable species. Many of the subgenera and sections might not be valid; they are used here provisionally as the phylogeny of this genus is not fully resolved yet and many species have not been reevaluated.
Cladistic analyses of DNA sequence data suggest that the present subdivisions and rankings are largely invalid. Far more subgenera would seem to warrant recognition, with Leptostemonum being the only one that can at present be clearly subdivided into sections. Notably, it includes as a major lineage several members of the traditional sections Cyphomandropsis and the old genus Cyphomandra.

Subgenus ''Bassovia''

Section Allophylla
  • Solanum granuloso-leprosum
Section Cyphomandropsis
Section Pachyphylla
Section Acanthophora
Section Androceras: 12 spp.
Section Anisantherum

Section Campanulata

Section Crinitum

Section Croatianum

Section Erythrotrichum
Section Graciliflorum

Section Herposolanum
Section Irenosolanum
Section Ischyracanthum

Section Lasiocarpa
Section Melongena
Section Micracantha
Section Monodolichopus

Section Nycterium

Section Oliganthes
  • Solanum aethiopicum – Ethiopian eggplant, nakati, mock tomato, Ethiopian nightshade; including S. gilo
  • Solanum centrale – Australian desert raisin, bush raisin, bush sultana, "bush tomato", akatjurra, kampurarpa, merne akatyerre, kutjera
  • Solanum cleistogamum – "bush tomato", merne mwanyerne
  • Solanum ellipticum – Potato bush, "bush tomato"
  • Solanum pyracanthos Lam. – Porcupine tomato, Devil's Thorn
  • Solanum quadriloculatum F.Muell. – "bush tomato", "wild tomato"
Section Persicariae
Section Polytrichum

Section Pugiunculifera

Section Somalanum

Section Torva
Section Afrosolanum

Section Anarrhichomenum
Section Archaesolanum
  • Solanum aviculare – Poroporo, kangaroo apple
Section Basarthrum
Section Benderianum

Section Brevantherum
Section Dulcamara
Section Herpystichum

Section Holophylla
  • Solanum diphyllum L. – Twin-leaved nightshade
  • Solanum pseudocapsicum – Jerusalem cherry, Madeira winter cherry, "winter cherry"
  • Solanum pseudoquina
Section Juglandifolia
Section Lemurisolanum

Section Lycopersicoides
Section Lycopersicon
  • Solanum arcanum Peralta – "wild tomato"
  • Solanum chilense
  • Solanum corneliomulleri
  • Solanum huaylasense Peralta
  • Solanum peruvianum L. – Peruvian nightshade, "wild tomato"
  • Solanum cheesmaniae Fosberg
  • Solanum chmielewskii
  • Solanum galapagense S.C.Darwin & Peralta
  • Solanum habrochaites
  • Solanum lycopersicum – Tomato
  • Solanum neorickii
  • Solanum pennellii
  • Solanum pimpinellifolium – Currant tomato
Section Macronesiotes

Section Normania

Section Petota
Section Pteroidea

Section Quadrangulare

Section Regmandra

Section Solanum
Some plants of other genera were formerly placed in Solanum: