Family Nightshade: flower formula, characteristic features, diversity

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 the fruit, the 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 Paslinov family

All members of this group, growing in a temperate climatic zone, are exclusively herbaceous plants. But in Central and South America there are also lianas, bushes, and trees. The signs of the Nightshade family also include simple leaves with the next arrangement. According to the shape of the plate, they can be solid, notched, notched.

Parts of some plants are covered with glandular cells. Their secretions have a specific smell. Datura and whitens accumulate in their tissues poisonous substances, which are called alkaloids.

Family Nightshade: flower formula

Do you know that in biology there are also formulas? For example, ((5) Λ (5) Τ5 Π1. And it is also a systematic feature of the Nightshade family. It is very easy to decipher the flower.

The first two letters and numbers characterize the structure of the perianth. (5) is the number of sepals, and A (5) is the petals. The last fuse together, so visually resemble a tube. T5 - the number of stamens. At the representatives of the family, they all fuse with the corolla. 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 corolla. In the tropics, birds and mammals also take part in the pollination process.

Nightshade forms fruits of two types: berry and a box. The first has a dense protective peel, fleshy middle and inner layers, contains many seeds. Berries are formed in the process of pollination of tomato, pepper, potato and eggplant flowers. A capsule is a dry multi-seeded fruit. It can be opened in different ways. For example, in datura - numerous longitudinal slits, and in bleached with a lid.

Diversity

In addition to widely known vegetable crops, such as peppers and potatoes, the Paslen family includes decorative species. This is physalis, petunia, fragrant tobacco. They are appreciated for the bright coloring of the coronets and a pleasant aroma.

Medicinal plants are black nightshade, bitter-sweet, pepper-like. They are used in the treatment of rheumatism, depriving, psoriasis, as an expectorant. Curative properties are also famous for belladonna. The leaves of this plant have long been used for the manufacture of drugs that reduce muscle tone.

Belen, which is considered a poisonous plant, is widely used in medicine as an analgesic, expectorant. The grass also has a relaxing effect on the nervous system.

The typical structure of the Nightshade family also has a mandrake. During the Middle Ages, magic properties were attributed to her, therefore they called her a witch or witch flower. The root of this plant visually resembles a human figure. The escape is devoid of the stem. It consists of leaves and large single flowers with a bright aureole.

This unusual structure determined the use of mandrake for magical purposes as a means of privatization, 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 amulet of love.

In fact, the mandrake is very poisonous. It can both excite and inhibit the activity of the nervous system, cause insomnia and even hallucinations.

The economic importance of plants

But the main value still has Vegetable Nightshade. Can you imagine your diet without potatoes? Certainly not. But for a long time this plant was considered poisonous. And all because people used to eat its fruits, which are really inedible. The application found only the inflorescence of potatoes, which decorated clothes, headdresses and hairstyles. Today, in food, a person uses an underground modification of the shoot - the tubers.

So, in this article we have considered the following features of the Nightshift family:

• The flower formula is ((5) ((5) 55 11;
• Corolla is formed by fused petals;
• Life forms - grass, less often - bushes, vines and trees;
• Leaves are simple;
• Fruit - a berry or a box.