Biology:Solanum

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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 (aubergine, brinjal). It is the largest genus in the nightshade family Solanaceae, comprising around 1,500 species. It also contains the so-called horse nettles (unrelated to the genus of true nettles, Urtica), as well as numerous plants cultivated for their ornamental flowers and fruit.

Solanum species show a wide range of growth habits, such as annuals and perennials, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon (the tomatoes) 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 (AD 23–79) for a plant also known as strychnos, most likely S. nigrum. Its derivation is uncertain, possibly stemming from the Latin word sol, meaning "sun", referring to its status as a plant of the sun.[1]

Species having the common name "nightshade"

The species most commonly called nightshade in North America and Britain is Solanum dulcamara, also called bittersweet or woody nightshade (so-called because it is a scandent shrub). 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. Black nightshades (many species in the Solanum nigrum complex, Solanum sect. Solanum) have varying levels of toxins and are considered too toxic to eat by many people in North America and Europe, but young stems and leaves or fully ripened fruit of various species are cooked and eaten by native people in North America, Africa, and Asia. Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) belongs, like Solanum, to subfamily Solanoideae of the nightshade family, but, unlike that genus, is a member of tribe Hyoscyameae (Solanum belongs to tribe Solaneae).[2] The chemistry of Atropa species is very different from that of Solanum species and features the very toxic tropane alkaloids, the best-known of which is atropine.[3]

Taxonomy

See also: Biology:List of Solanum species

The genus was established by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.[4] Its subdivision has always been problematic, but slowly some sort of consensus is being achieved.

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.[5]

Subgenus Bassovia

Section Allophylla

Section Cyphomandropsis

Section Pachyphylla

Subgenus Leptostemonum

Five-minute plant (S. atropurpureum) fruit
Solanum palinacanthum
Shrubby nightshade (S. robustum) flowers
Giant potatocreeper (S. wendlandii) flowers
Porcupine tomato (S. pyracanthos) fruit

Section Acanthophora

Section Androceras

12 spp.[6]

  • Series Androceras
  • Series Violaceiflorum
  • Series Pacificum

Section Anisantherum

Section Campanulata

Section Crinitum

Section Croatianum

Section Erythrotrichum

Section Graciliflorum

Section Herposolanum

Section Irenosolanum

Section Ischyracanthum

Section Lasiocarpa

Section Melongena

Section Micracantha

  • Solanum jamaicense Mill. – Jamaican nightshade
  • Solanum lanceifolium Jacq. – Lance-leaved nightshade
  • Solanum tampicense Dunal – Wetland nightshade

Section Monodolichopus

Section Nycterium

Section Oliganthes

Section Persicariae

Section Polytrichum

Section Pugiunculifera

Section Somalanum

Section Torva

Subgenus Lyciosolanum

  • Solanum guineense L.

Subgenus Solanum

Solanum erianthum
Jasmine nightshade (S. laxum) flowers
Currant tomato (S. pimpinellifolium) fruit
Andean black potatoes (S. tuberosum)
Turkey berry (S. torvum) flowers
Yellow nightshade (S. villosum) fruit

Also known as: Solanum sensu stricto.

Section Afrosolanum

Section Anarrhichomenum

  • Solanum baretiae[8]

Section Archaesolanum

Section Basarthrum

Section Benderianum

Section Brevantherum

Section Dulcamara

Section Herpystichum

Section Holophylla

Section Juglandifolia

  • Solanum juglandifolium
  • Solanum ochranthum

Section Lemurisolanum

Section Lycopersicoides

  • Solanum lycopersicoides Dunal – Peruvian wolfpeach
  • Solanum sitiens

Section Lycopersicon

Also known as: tomato lineage.

Section Macronesiotes

Section Normania

  • †Solanum nava (?)

Section Petota

Also known as the "potato lineage". Including: subsections Estolonifera and Potatoe.

Section Pteroidea

Section Quadrangulare

Section Regmandra

Section Solanum

Notable species not otherwise placed

Species in this list may have been placed into a taxonomic section or subgenus by some work not cited here. Please move the species accordingly if that happens.
Forked nightshade (S. furcatum)
Bluewitch nightshade (S. umbelliferum) flowers

Formerly placed here

Lycianthes rantonnetii and its congeners were often placed in Solanum.

Some plants of other genera were formerly placed in Solanum:

  • Chamaesaracha coronopus (as S. coronopus)
  • Cordia alliodora (as S. mucronatum)
  • Lycianthes biflora (as S. multifidum Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don)
  • Lycianthes denticulata (as S. gouakai var. angustifolium and var. latifolium)
  • Lycianthes lycioides (as S. lycioides var. angustifolium)
  • Lycianthes mociniana (as S. uniflorum Dunal in Poir. and S. uniflorum Sessé & Moc.)
  • Lycianthes rantonnetii (as S. rantonnetii, S. urbanum var. ovatifolium and var. typicum)
  • Undetermined species of Lycianthes have been referred to under names such as S. chrysophyllum, S. ciliatum Blume ex Miq., S. corniculatum Hiern, S. lanuginosum, S. retrofractum var. acuminatum, S. violaceum Blume, S. violifolium f. typicum, S. virgatum notst β albiflorum, S. uniflorum Lag. or S. uniflorum var. berterianum.

Phylogeny

The following phylogeny of Solanaceae is from Zhang et al. (2025) figure 1B. It is based on a consensus of 500 trees randomly sampled from 1-Mb genomic windows with 200-kb step size.[12]

 
 
Solanum
 
 
 
 
 

Tomato (= sect. Lycopersicon)

 
 

Petota (Tomato × Etuberosum)

 
 

Etuberosum

 
 
 

Anarrhicomenum

 
 
 

Basarthrum

 
 
 
 

Moreilloid ("Maurella", "Morella")

 
 

Dulcamaroid

 
 
Grade I
 
 
 
 

Brevantherum

 
 

Geminata

 
 
 
 
 
 

Crinitum

 
 

Sisymbriifolium

 
 
 
 

Acanthophora

 
 

Lasiocarpa

 
 
 
 
 

Androceras

 
 

Eastern Hemisphere Spiny

 
 
"Spiny" (≈ subgen. Leptostemonum)
 
Clade II
 
 
 
 
 

Lycianthes

 
 

Physalis

 
 
 

Jaltomata

 
 
 
 
 

Datura

 
 

Nicandra

 
 
 
 
 

Lycium

 
 

Nicotiana

 
 

The non-italicized names inside of Solanum refer to the major clade names within Solanum. These names usually include the similarly-named section but do not have taxonomic standing.[12]

Ecology

Solanum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species (butterflies and moths).

Toxicity

Most parts of the plants,[13] especially the green parts and unripe fruit, are poisonous to humans (although not necessarily to other animals), with some species even being deadly.

Uses

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:

  • Tomato, S. lycopersicum
    • Tomato varieties are sometimes bred from both S. lycopersicum and wild tomato species such as S. pimpinellifolium, S. peruvianum, S. cheesmanii, S. galapagense, S. chilense, etc. (such varieties include—among others—Bicentennial, Dwarf Italian, Epoch, Golden Sphere, Hawaii, Ida Red, Indigo Rose,[14] Kauai, Lanai, Marion, Maui, Molokai, Niihau, Oahu, Owyhee, Parma, Payette, Red Lode, Super Star, Surecrop, Tuckers Forcing, V 121, Vantage, Vetomold, and Waltham.)[15]
  • Potato, S. tuberosum, fourth largest food crop.
    • Less important but cultured relatives used in small amounts include S. stenotomum, S. phureja, S. goniocalyx, S. ajanhuiri, S. chaucha, S. juzepczukii, S. curtilobum.
  • Eggplant (also known as brinjal or aubergine), S. melongena

Other species are significant food crops regionally, such as Ethiopian eggplant or scarlet eggplant (S. aethiopicum), naranjilla or lulo (S. quitoense), cocona (S. sessiliflorum), turkey berry (S. torvum), pepino or pepino melon (S. muricatum), tamarillo (S. betaceum), wolf apple (S. lycocarpum), garden huckleberry (S. scabrum) and "bush tomatoes" (several Australian species).

Ornamentals

The species most widely seen in cultivation as ornamental plants are:

Medicine

Several species are locally used in folk medicine, particularly by native people who have long employed them.

References

  1. ↑ Quattrocchi, U. (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Vol. 4, R-Z. Taylor and Francis. p. 2058. ISBN 978-0-8493-2678-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=2ndDtX-RjYkC. 
  2. ↑ Armando T. Hunziker 2001: The Genera of Solanaceae. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag, Ruggell, Liechtenstein. ISBN 3-904144-77-4.
  3. ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Pfänder, Hans Jürgen. 1984 A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants : A Handbook for Pharmacists, Doctors, Toxicologists, and Biologists transl. from 2nd German ed. by Norman Grainger Bisset, London : Wolfe Atlases. Wolfe Publishing.
  4. ↑ "Solanum Phylogeny". Solanaceae Source. Natural History Museum. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/solanaceaesource/taxonomy/phylogeny/index.jsp. 
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named grin
  6. ↑ Whalen, Michael D (1979). "Allozyme Variation and Evolution in Solanum Section Androceras". Systematic Botany 4 (3): 203–222. doi:10.2307/2418419. Bibcode: 1979SysBo...4..203W. 
  7. ↑ "Factsheet – Solanum cataphractum". http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/efsa/lucid/Solanaceae/Solanum%20species/key/Australian%20Solanum%20species/Media/Html/Solanum_cataphractum.htm. 
  8. ↑ Tepe, E. J.; Ridley, G.; Bohs, L. (2012). "A new species of Solanum named for Jeanne Baret, an overlooked contributor to the history of botany". PhytoKeys (8): 37–47. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.8.2101. PMID 22287929. Bibcode: 2012PhytK...8...37T. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Anderson, G. J.; Martine, C. T.; Prohens, J.; Nuez, F. (2006). "Solanum perlongistylum and S. catilliflorum, New Endemic Peruvian Species of Solanum, Section Basarthrum, Are Close Relatives of the Domesticated Pepino, S. muricatum". Novon 16 (2): 161–67. doi:10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16[161:SPASCN2.0.CO;2]. ISSN 1055-3177. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/37293. 
  10. ↑ Ochoa, C. M. (2006). "Solanum tergosericeum (Solanaceae sect. Basarthrum): A new species from Peru". Phytologia 88 (2): 212–15. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.27433. 
  11. ↑ Reina, Antonio Maria Martinez; Zumaqué, Lilibeth Tordecilla; Martínez, Liliana María Grandett; Pinto, María del Valle Rodríguez (2020-08-25). "Adopcion Adopción de la variedad de berenjena C015 (Solanum melongena L.) en la región Caribe colombiana: measuring adoption" (in es). Ciencia y Agricultura 17 (3): 1–10. doi:10.19053/01228420.v17.n3.2020.11062. ISSN 2539-0899. https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/ciencia_agricultura/article/view/11062. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Zhang, Zhiyang; Zhang, Pingxian; Ding, Yiyuan; Wang, Zefu; Ma, Zhaoxu; Gagnon, Edeline; Jia, Yuxin; Cheng, Lin et al. (July 2025). "Ancient hybridization underlies tuberization and radiation of the potato lineage". Cell. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2025.06.034. 
  13. ↑ "Archived TJM 1993 treatment for Solanum douglasii". https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment?7625,7682,7687. 
  14. ↑ "Purple tomato debuts as 'Indigo Rose'". Extension Service. Oregon state university. 2012-01-27. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/purple-tomato-debuts-indigo-rose. 
  15. ↑ "Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions for North America | Cucurbit Breeding". NCSU. http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/wehner/vegcult/. 
  16. ↑ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965. 

Further reading

Updated taxonomic treatments not yet integrated:

General references:

  • Data related to Solanum at Wikispecies

Template:AfricanPlants

Wikidata ☰ Q146555 entry



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