Lycianthes

Lycianthes
Lycianthes rantonnetii (Blue Potato Bush)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Lycianthes
Species
About 200, see text

Lycianthes is a genus of plants from the nightshade family (Solanaceae), found in both the Old World and the New World, but predominantly in the latter. It contains roughly 200 species, mostly from tropical America, with 35-40 species in Asia and the Pacific.

Characteristics

Lycianthes is apparently closely related to the chili and bell peppers (Capsicum). However, it was long confused with the nightshades (Solanum), and several little-known "Solanum" species presumably belong here.

Species

Species include:

• Lycianthes australis (C.V.Morton) Hunz. & Barboza
• Lycianthes biflora (Lour.) Bitter
• Lycianthes denticulata (Blume) Bitter
• Lycianthes hypochrysea
• Lycianthes laevis (Dunal) Bitter
• Lycianthes lycioides (L.) Hassl.
• Lycianthes mociniana (Dunal) Bitter – tlanochtle (Nahuatl)
• Lycianthes rantonnetii (Carrière) Bitter – Blue Potato Bush
• Lycianthes rimbachii
• Lycianthes shanesii (F.Muell.) A.R.Bean
• "Solanum chrysophyllum"
• "Solanum lanuginosum"
• "Solanum loxense"
• "Solanum mucronatum" – "pepino"

Related species

Other "Solanum" taxa of unknown identity but presumably belonging into Lycianthes include S. ciliatum Blume ex Miq., S. corniculatum Hiern, S. retrofractum var. acuminatum, S. violaceum Blume, S. violifolium f. typicum, S. virgatum notst ß albiflorum, S. uniflorum Lag. and S. uniflorum var. berterianum.

See also

• Nonochton

References

• Solanaceae Source [2008]: PBI Solanum: A worldwide treatment. Retrieved 2008-OCT-01.