PETUNIA

Petunia is genus of 35 species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae, of South American origin, closely related to tobacco, cape gooseberries, tomatoes, deadly nightshades, potatoes and chili peppers. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word petun, meaning "tobacco," from a Tupi–Guarani language.

An annual, most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids (Petunia × hybrida). Here is one of the Surfinia series of petunia, called 'Purple Vein'. It is perfect for creating colourful summer displays in containers and hanging baskets. It is also a good ground cover plant, making a carpet of lavender blooms with contrasting veins. For the best displays, feed and water regularly.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

POOR MAN'S ORCHID

Schizanthus also called butterfly flower, fringeflower, poor-man's-orchid, is a genus of plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. They are annual or biennial herbaceous plants, with attractive flowers and they belong to the subfamily Schizanthoideae of the Solanaceae. The genus includes species native to Chile and Argentina, many species are adventitious in other parts of the world such as New Zealand and the United States.

Plant the seedlings in rich, well-drained soil where they will get morning sun and afternoon shade. Poor man’s orchid is a relatively rapid grower, and will soon reach its full height of 40 cm, branching out into a fluffy bush. While poor man’s orchids do well in shaded beds, they thrive in planters, hanging pots and indoor windows. Place them where they will receive cool breezes and morning sun, then move the pots to a shaded spot in the afternoon. Wait until the soil is almost dry before watering each time, as the roots are subject to rot if they stay too moist.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BLACK NIGHTSHADE

European black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) or locally just 'black nightshade', duscle, garden nightshade, garden huckleberry, hound's berry, petty morel, wonder berry, small-fruited black nightshade, or popolo) is a species in the Solanum genus, native to Eurasia and introduced in the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa. Parts of this plant can be toxic to livestock and humans. Nonetheless, ripe berries and cooked leaves of edible strains are used as food in some locales, and plant parts are used as a traditional medicine. A tendency exists in literature to incorrectly refer to many of the other "black nightshade" species as "Solanum nigrum".

Solanum nigrum has been recorded from deposits of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic era of ancient Britain and it is suggested by the botanist and ecologist Edward Salisbury that it was part of the native flora there before Neolithic agriculture emerged. The species was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD and by the great herbalists, including Dioscorides. In 1753, Carl Linnaeus described six varieties of Solanum nigrum in 'Species Plantarum'.

Black nightshade is a common herb or short-lived perennial shrub, found in many wooded areas, as well as disturbed habitats. It reaches a height of 30 to 120 cm, leaves 4.0 to 7.5 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide; ovate to heart-shaped, with wavy or large-toothed edges; both surfaces hairy or hairless; petiole 1 to 3 cm long with a winged upper portion. The flowers have petals greenish to whitish, recurved when aged and surround prominent bright yellow anthers. The berry is mostly 6 to 8 mm in diam., dull black or purple-black. In India, another strain is found with berries that turn red when ripe. Sometimes S. nigrum is confused for the more toxic deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna, which is in a different Solanaceae genus altogether. A comparison of the fruit shows that the black nightshade berries grow in bunches, the deadly nightshade berries grow individually.

Solanine levels in S. nigrum can be toxic. Children have died from poisoning after eating unripe berries. However, the plant is rarely fatal, with ripe berries causing symptoms of mild abdominal pains, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Poisoning symptoms are typically delayed for 6 to 12 hours after ingestion. Initial symptoms of toxicity include fever, sweating, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, confusion, and drowsiness. Death from ingesting large amounts of the plant results from cardiac arrhythmias and respiratory failure. Livestock have also been poisoned from nitrate toxicity by grazing the leaves of S. nigrum. All kinds of animals can be poisoned after ingesting nightshade, including cattle, sheep, poultry, and swine.

Nevertheless, S. nigrum has been widely used as a food since early times, and the fruit was recorded as a famine food in 15th-century China. Despite toxicity issues with some forms, the ripe berries and boiled leaves of edible strains are eaten. The thoroughly boiled leaves (although strong and slightly bitter flavoured) are used like spinach as horta (see here) and in fataya pies and quiches. The ripe black berries are described as sweet and salty, with hints of liquorice and melon. In South India, the leaves and berries are routinely consumed as food after cooking with tamarind, onion, and cumin seeds.

If you decide to pick and consume black nightshade, ensure you know that you are picking the right plant and also that you are preparing it correctly!

The plant has a long history of medicinal usage, dating back to ancient Greece. In the fourteenth century, the plant under the name of Petty Morel was being used for "canker" and with Horehound and wine taken for "dropsy". It was a traditional European medicine used as a strong sudorific, analgesic and sedative with powerful narcotic properties, but was considered a "somewhat dangerous remedy". Internal use has fallen out of favour in Western herbalism due to its variable chemistry and toxicity, but it is used topically as a treatment for herpes zoster. In the language of flowers, a sprig of flowering black nightshade signifies "truth".

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

POTATO BUSH

Lycianthes rantonnetii (blue potato bush) is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It is native to Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. It is cultivated as ornamental plant the world over. The blue potato bush is one of about 150 species in the genus Lycianthes, which are found mostly in tropical regions of the Americas, and others located in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lycianthes is apparently closely related to the chili peppers (Capsicum). However, it was long confused with the nightshades (Solanum), and several little-known Solanum species presumably should be included with Lycianthes. The species is named for Barthélémy Victor Rantonnet, a 19th-century French horticulturalist.

This plant is noted for its superb display of richly coloured and lightly fragrant flowers over a long season, provided it is grown in full sun. Water and feed regularly for the best display. Cuttings will make good-sized bushes for the following summer. The small red autumn berries are poisonous when ingested.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

EGGPLANT

Eggplant (Solanum melongena), or aubergine, is a species of nightshade in the Solanaceae family grown for its edible fruit. Eggplant is the common name in North America and Australia, but British English uses aubergine. It is known in South Asia, Southeast Asia and South Africa as brinjal. Other common names are melongene, garden egg, or guinea squash.

The fruit is widely used in cooking and treated as a vegetable. As a member of the genus Solanum, it is related to the tomato and the potato. It was originally domesticated from the wild nightshade species, the thorn or bitter apple, S. incanum, probably with two independent domestications, one in South Asia and one in East Asia.

Here is a vegetarian recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana.

This post is part of the Our Beautiful World meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme.

CESTRUM

Cestrum nocturnum (common names include night-blooming jasmine, night-blooming cestrum, lady of the night, queen of the night), is a species of Cestrum in the plant family Solanaceae (the potato family). It is native to the West Indies, but naturalised in South Asia.

Cestrum is an evergreen woody shrub growing to 4 metres. The leaves are simple, narrow lanceolate, 6–20 centimetres long and 2–4.5 centimetres broad, smooth and glossy, with an entire margin. The flowers are greenish-white, with a slender tubular corolla 2–2.5 centimetres long with five acute lobes, 10–13 millimetres diameter when open at night, and are produced in cymose inflorescences. A powerful, sweet perfume is released at night. There is also a variety with yellowish flowers (seen here).

The fruit is a berry 10 millimetres long by 5 millimetres diameter, the colour of an aubergine. There are mixed reports regarding the toxicity of foliage and fruit. Cestrum nocturnum is grown in subtropical regions as an ornamental plant for its flowers that are heavily perfumed at night. It grows best in average to moist soil that is light and sandy, with a neutral pH of 6.6 to 7.5, and is hardy to hardiness zone 8. C. nocturnum can be fertilised biweekly with a weak dilution of seaweed and fish emulsion fertiliser.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,
and also part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

CHILIES

The chili pepper (also chile pepper or chilli pepper, from Nahuatl "chīlli") is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. In Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and other Asian countries, the word "pepper" is usually omitted.

The substances that give chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically are capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called capsaicinoids. Chili peppers originated in the Americas. After the Columbian Exchange, many cultivars of chili pepper spread across the world, used in both food and medicine.

Chilies were brought to Asia by Portuguese navigators during the 16th century. India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of chili peppers. Guntur in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh produces 30% of all the chilies produced in India, and Andhra Pradesh as a whole contributes 75% of India's chili exports.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

TAMARILLO

The tamarillo (Solanum betaceum) is a small tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Solanaceae (the nightshade family). It is best known as the species that bears the tamarillo, an egg-shaped edible fruit. It is also known as the tree tomato, or tamamoro. The tamarillo is native to the Andes of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. Today, it is still cultivated in gardens and small orchards for local production, and it is one of the most popular fruits in these regions. Other regions of cultivation are the subtropical areas throughout the world, such as Rwanda, South Africa, India, Hong Kong, China, United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

The plant is a fast-growing tree that grows up to 5 meters. Peak production is reached after 4 years, and the life expectancy is about 12 years. The tree usually forms a single upright trunk with lateral branches. The flowers and fruits hang from the lateral branches. The leaves are large, simple and perennial, and have a strong pungent smell. The flowers are pink-white, and form clusters of 10 to 50 flowers. They produce 1 to 6 fruits per cluster. Plants can set fruit without cross-pollination, but the flowers are fragrant and attract insects. Cross-pollination seems to improve fruit set. The roots are shallow and not very pronounced, therefore the plant is not tolerant to drought stress, and can be damaged by strong winds.

Tamarillos will hybridise with many other Solanaceae, though the hybrid fruits will be sterile, and unpalatable in some instances. The fruits are egg shaped and about 4-10 cm long. Their colour varies from yellow and orange to red and almost purple. Sometimes they have dark, longitudinal stripes. Red fruits are more acetous, yellow and orange fruits are sweeter. The flesh has a firm texture and contains more and larger seeds than a common tomato. The fruits are very high in vitamins and iron and low in calories (only about 40 calories per fruit).

Here is a recipe for tamarillo chutney, and here is one for tamarillo salad.

This post is part of the ABC Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DATURA

Datura stramonium, known by the common names Jimson weed or datura, is a plant in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, which is believed to have originated in the Americas, but is now found around the world. Other common names for D. stramonium include thornapple and moon flower, and it has the Spanish name Toloache.

For centuries, datura has been used as a herbal medicine to relieve asthma symptoms and as an analgesic during surgery or bonesetting. It is also a powerful hallucinogen and deliriant, which is used spiritually for the intense visions it produces. However, the tropane alkaloids which are responsible for both the medicinal and hallucinogenic properties are fatally toxic in only slightly higher amounts than the medicinal dosage, and careless use often results in hospitalisations and deaths.

Datura stramonium generally flowers throughout the summer. The fragrant flowers are trumpet-shaped, white to creamy or violet, and 6–9 cm long, and grow on short stems from either the axils of the leaves or the places where the branches fork. The calyx is long and tubular, swollen at the bottom, and sharply angled, surmounted by five sharp teeth. The corolla, which is folded and only partially open, is white, funnel-shaped, and has prominent ribs. The flowers open at night, emitting a pleasant fragrance and is fed upon by nocturnal moths.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

BROWALLIA SPECIOSA - 'BUSH VIOLET'

Browallia is a genus of Solanaceae family. It is named after Johannes Browallius (1707–1755), also known as Johan Browall, a Swedish botanist, physician and bishop. Browallia speciosa ('Blue Troll') is a blue-violet tender perennial usually grown as an annual flowering plant also called the 'Amethyst Flower' or 'Bush Violet'. It is much used as a garden ornamental. It is is native to tropical South America.

It performs well in consistently moist, well-drained, humus-rich soils in sun to shade. In hot Summer areas, plants are best sited in sun dappled conditions, bright shade or afternoon shade. Do not allow soils to dry out. Sow seed indoors 8-10 weeks before last Spring frost date or purchase Spring starter plants in six packs from nurseries. Pinch plants back to encourage branching. Prior to first Autumn frost, some plants may be cut back, planted in small containers and brought indoors for winter flowering.

No serious insect or disease problems. Aphids, leafhoppers and whiteflies may appear. It can be grown in containers, hanging baskets, planted en masse or in large groups in beds, borders and woodland gardens. Houseplant for bright, warm locations in winter.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

BRUNFELSIA

Brunfelsia australis (syn: bonodora) is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. It is endemic to Brazil, and it is grown in cultivation. Its common names include "yesterday-today-and-tomorrow", "morning-noon-and-night", and "Brazil raintree". The genus name Brunfelsia (often incorrectly spelt Brunsfelsia) commemorates sixteenth century German monk, Otto Brunfels. The species name, australis  implies an origin in the Southern Hemisphere, while bonodora, is from the Latin, and means 'sweet-smelling'.

It is an evergreen shrub which grows slowly to around 2-4m tall and 2m wide. The foliage is dense and medium green in colour. The young leaves are often purplish in cool weather. The flowers are very sweetly perfumed and appear from September to late November in Melbourne. When they first open they are a violet colour, fading to lavender blue and then white, with the three colours present on the bush at the same time, hence the common name.

The only downside is that the plant is poisonous and the brown berries have been known to poison dogs. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, muscle tremors, staggering and seizures. If you have a dog, remove the berries from the plant every year.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DOUBLE CALIBRACHOA "RUBY"

Calibrachoa is a genus of plants in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. They are weak evergreen short-lived perennials and subshrubs with a sprawling habit, with small petunia-type flowers. They are found across much the same region of South America as petunias, from southern Brazil across to Peru and Chile, inhabiting scrub and open grassland.

Calibrachoa are the smaller but close relatives to Petunia. However, on closer examination it has been found that there are major differences in chromosomes, corresponding to external differences and fertilisation factors that distinguish the two genera. Calibrachoa is named after Antonio de la Cal y Bracho, a 19th century Mexican botanist and pharmacologist.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

CHINESE LANTERN

Physalis is a genus of plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), native to warm temperate and subtropical regions throughout the world. The genus is characterised by the small orange fruit similar in size, shape and structure to a small tomato, but partly or fully enclosed in a large papery husk derived from the calyx. Many Physalis species are called groundcherries.

Physalis alkekengi (Bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, Japanese lantern, or Winter cherry; Japanese: hōzuki), is a relative of P. peruviana (Cape Gooseberry), easily identifiable by the larger, bright orange to red papery covering over its fruit, which resemble paper lanterns. It is native from southern Europe east across southern Asia to Japan. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40–60 cm tall, with spirally arranged leaves 6–12 cm long and 4–9 cm broad. The flowers are white, with a five-lobed corolla 10–15 mm across, with an inflated basal calyx which matures into the papery orange fruit covering, 4–5 cm long and broad.

This post is part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme.