Tomato, pepper, eggplant, potatoes - these plants have long been known for their economic importance. All of them belong to the nightshade family. The formula of the flower, the type of fruit, life form are the signs by which the presented plants can be combined. Our article is devoted to the features and diversity of representatives of this systematic unit.
Signs of the nightshade family
All representatives of this group, growing in the temperate climatic zone, are exclusively herbaceous plants. But in Central and South America, there are vines, and shrubs, and trees. Signs of the nightshade family also include simple leaves with the next arrangement. In the shape of the plate, they can be solid, notched, serrated.
Parts of some plants are covered with glandular cells. Their secretions have a specific smell. Datura and belene accumulate in their tissues toxic substances called alkaloids.
Solanaceae Family: Flower Formula
Do you know that biology also has formulas? For example, H (5) L (5) T5 P1. And it is also a systematic feature of the nightshade family. The formula of the flower is very easy to decipher.
The first two letters and numbers characterize the structure of the perianth. H (5) is the number of sepals, and L (5) is the number of petals. The latter grow together, therefore, visually resemble a tube. T5 - the number of stamens. In representatives of the family, they all grow together with a whisk. And, it’s easy to guess, P1 is the only pestle.
Such flowers can be solitary or collected in inflorescences, like potatoes. Most often they are pollinated by insects. Their attention is attracted by the aroma and bright whisk. In the tropics, birds and mammals also participate in the pollination process.
Solanaceae form two types of fruits: berry and capsule. The first has a dense protective skin, fleshy middle and inner layers, contains many seeds. Berries are formed during the pollination of flowers of tomato, pepper, potato and eggplant. A box is a dry multi-seeded fruit. It can be revealed in different ways. For example, dope has numerous longitudinal gaps, while bleached with a cap.
Diversity
In addition to well-known vegetable crops such as peppers and potatoes, the nightshade family also includes decorative species. These are physalis, petunia, fragrant tobacco. They are appreciated for the bright color of the corollas and the pleasant aroma.
Medicinal plants are black nightshade, bittersweet, pepper-shaped. They are used in the treatment of rheumatism, lichen, psoriasis, as an expectorant. Belladonna is also famous for its healing properties. The leaves of this plant have long been used for the manufacture of drugs that reduce muscle tone.
Belena, which is considered a poisonous plant, is widely used in medicine as a painkiller, expectorant. The herb also has a relaxing effect on the nervous system.
The typical structure of the nightshade family also has a mandrake. During the Middle Ages, she was credited with witchcraft properties, so they called it a witch's or witch's flower. The root of this plant visually resembles a human figure. Escape is devoid of stem. It consists of leaves and large single flowers with a bright corolla.
Such an unusual structure determined the use of mandrake for magical purposes as a love spell, getting rid of infertility and many ailments. It is known that in ancient Greece the flowers of this plant were worn around the neck as an ornament and an amulet of love.
In fact, mandrake is very poisonous. It can both excite and inhibit the activity of the nervous system, cause insomnia and even hallucinations.
Economic value of plants
But the main value is still the nightshade vegetable. Can you imagine your diet without potatoes? Surely not. But for a long time this plant was considered poisonous. And all because people used its fruits for food, which are really inedible. Only potato inflorescences were used to decorate clothes, hats and hairstyles. Today, people eat underground modifications of the shoot - tubers.
So, in our article we examined the following features of the nightshade family:
- flower formula H (5) L (5) T5 P1;
- the corolla is formed by fused petals;
- life forms - grass, less often - shrubs, vines and trees;
- leaves are simple;
- fruit - a berry or a box.