The class of dicotyledonous plants is the most numerous in nature and is represented by a number of families. One of them is the nightshade family, whose representatives are of great economic importance to humans.
General characteristics of the nightshade family
In front of you in the photo is potatoes. This famous plant is a typical representative of nightshade. But this systematic unit got its name thanks to its other representative - black nightshade. Most of these plants have long been cultivated, they are grown by people.
The main distinguishing feature of each family is the structure of the flower. In nightshade, it is represented by five stamens and a pestle, which consists of several carpels. There are also 5 petals, they are fused together. The sepals have the same amount and structure. The set of petals (whisk) can be painted in different colors. It is white for dope, lilac for belladonna, and pink for tobacco. The ovary - the extended part of the pestle - is upper or loose. This means that it does not grow together with any parts of the flower, and the base is attached to the receptacle.
Solanaceous: vegetables and more ...
Tomato, eggplant, potatoes - nightshade, which give tasty and healthy vegetables. They have valuable nutritional properties. But besides them, medicinal nightshade are widely used. For example, belladonna contains alkaloids. They have an antispasmodic effect, reducing muscle tone of organs. Belena, traditionally considered a poisonous plant, is used in folk medicine as an alcohol tincture to treat boils, inflammations, and colds.
Sweet tobacco, dope and petunia are decorative representatives of nightshade. They are used for designing personal gardens. And physalis, or the Chinese lantern, will perfectly decorate any autumn landscape or ikebana.
Valuable technical crops are shag and tobacco, which go to the production of cigarettes.
Fruit types
Fruits of nightshade are presented by a box and a berry. The first type is dry, multi-seeded and drop-down. This helps the plant spread more efficiently in nature. Datura and bleached have boxes. Vegetables form a juicy multi-seeded berry.
Her pericarp consists of three layers. The outer, leathery, is protective, and the middle and inner are juicy and fleshy, they store the necessary substances. The type of fruit in potatoes, peppers and tomatoes is just that.
Potato story
Since ancient times, people were engaged in gathering. Along with the edible roots of many plants, potato tubers were discovered . It happened in Latin America about 5 thousand years ago. In Europe, the Spaniards first tried it only in the 16th century. In our country, the first bag of potatoes was imported from Holland. However, a whole century had to pass before this product took its rightful place.
This is now to the questions: "What is the type of fruit in potatoes" and "What parts of this plant are eaten?" - everyone will answer. And in those days, they prepared shoots, fruits, or unripe tubers of potatoes. Due to the presence of a dangerous alkaloid substance in them, numerous food poisonings occurred. People just hated this plant. The people even staged real "potato riots", refusing to cultivate the culture. But they nevertheless found a worthy application. Of the beautiful lilac flowers, elegant boutonnieres were made, which decorated the outfits of the gentlemen, hats and hairstyles of the ladies.
And now we are looking at the photo with appetite: potatoes have rightfully taken a worthy place on each table.
People generally often made mistakes in the area of plant use. For example, belladonna ("beautiful woman") got its name in ancient Rome. The beauties of that time buried poisonous juice in their eyes. In this case, the pupils greatly expanded. It was believed that this makes the female look irresistible. Much later it turned out that such a procedure significantly reduces vision.
Type of fruit in potatoes
This plant is a typical member of the nightshade family, the signs of which have been thoroughly studied by biology. Potatoes are now used and cultivated so much that ordinary people do not think about which organs its edible parts belong to.
If you conduct a sociological survey and ask: "What is the type of fruit of a potato," most will answer: "Of course, a tuber." And they will be wrong. The type of fruit in a potato is a berry. Outwardly, it looks like a small tomato. At first it is green, and gradually ripens as it ripens.
Tubers or berries
It is traditionally accepted that potatoes reproduce vegetatively with the help of underground shoot modifications. This is a proven method that gives a decent harvest. However, economically this is not entirely profitable. After all, a sufficiently large proportion of the grown products must be left for planting material. The type of fruit in potatoes is a berry, it is multi-seeded. Therefore, in order to avoid disadvantages, seed propagation could be used. Why is this method with all the benefits not widely used?
The thing is that modern varieties of potatoes practically do not produce seeds. Recently, breeders have been actively working on the cultivation of new species with a large number of seeds, which will significantly increase the efficiency of growing their favorite potatoes.
Everyone knows the nightshade
There is such a thing as "nightshade food." First of all, sweet bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant. Their valuable gastronomic qualities are due to the taste of the pulp of the fruit.
All of them contain special substances - alkaloids. The most famous of these is nicotine. The first place in its content is, of course, tobacco. Surprisingly, the second place ... eggplant. And the third place was given to green tomatoes. However, the nicotine content in them is so low that there is no need to fear for their health.
The type of fruit in potatoes and its palatability do not allow it to be eaten. What can not be said about the tubers - the pantry of starch. It is worth noting that the content of dangerous alkaloids in sprouted and greened potatoes increases significantly and can cause poisoning of the human body. The appearance of green color is the result of the transformation of colorless plastids of leukoplasts into green ones - chloroplasts. After all, a tuber is a modification of the shoot. Such a reaction occurs exclusively in the light, so it is better to store valuable supplies in dark, cool rooms.
From the fruits of bitter red pepper get different spices that are used to make seasonings and sauces. This product is also nightshade.
Value
In addition to eating, a person widely uses the medicinal properties of nightshade plants. An extract for the treatment of bronchial asthma is obtained from datura leaves, and a painkiller is obtained from belladonna. However, it is not recommended to use medications from these plants on their own, it is better to consult a doctor about the dosage. The fact is that alkaloids are toxic substances. Their excessive amount leads to increased heart rate, shortness of breath, pain in the digestive system.
Currently, representatives of the nightshade family have occupied all niches of use due to the presence of valuable properties: from gastronomic to medicinal.