Solanoideae is a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

of the

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

family

Solanaceae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and or ...

, and is sister to the subfamily

Nicotianoideae Nicotianoideae is a subfamily within the family ''Solanaceae''. Most genera are found in Australia, but they are also found in America and Africa. The subfamily contains eight genera and about 125 species, 90 of them are included in ''Nicotiana'' ...

. Within Solanaceae, Solanoideae contains some of the most economically important genera and species, such as the

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

(''Solanum lycopersicum''),

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

(''Solanum tuberosum''),

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

or aubergine (''Solanum melongena''), chili and bell peppers (''

Capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come from Latin , me ...

'' spp.), mandrakes ('' Mandragora'' spp.), and jimson weed (''

Datura stramonium ''Datura stramonium'', known by the common names thorn apple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), devil's snare, or devil's trumpet, is a poisonous flowering plant of the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is a species belonging to the ''Datura'' genus a ...

''). This subfamily consists of several well-established

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

Capsiceae Capsiceae is a taxonomic tribe of bellpeppers and related plants belonging to the Solanoideae subfamily within the family Solanaceae. The tribe was described by Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier in 1827. Phylogenomes Research from spacer da ...

, Datureae, Hyoscyameae, Juanulloeae,

Lycieae ''Lycieae'' is a tribe of flowering plants in the subfamily Solanoideae of the family Solanaceae. It comprises two genera: ''Lycium ''Lycium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The genus has a disjunct distrib ...

Nicandreae ''Nicandra '' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to western South America. It was first described by Michel Adanson in 1763. The genus is named for Greek poet Nicander of Colophon, who wrote about plants – notably i ...

, Nolaneae, Physaleae, Solandreae, and

Solaneae The Solanaceae , or nightshades, are a family of flowering plants that ranges from annual and perennial herbs to vines, lianas, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, and includes a number of agricultural crops, medicinal plants, spices, weeds, and orna ...

. The subfamily also contains the contended tribes

Mandragoreae ''Mandragora'' is a plant genus belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). Members of the genus are known as mandrakes. Between three and five species are placed in the genus. The one or two species found around the Mediterranean constitut ...

and Jaboroseae.

Tribal relationships

The relationship between the

has recently been well described.

is the most basal tribe of the family, placing sister to the other 9 (or by some counts 11) tribes. Datureae lies sister to Nicandreae, Physaleae,

, and Solaneae. Solaneae + (Physaleae + Capsiceae) form a well-supported

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gr ...

group, but the exact branching within the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English ter ...

remains unclear.

References

External links

Asterid subfamilies {{Solanales-stub