A family of flowering plants (order Solanales) that comprise 100 genera and 2,500 species, many of which are economically important as food or medicinal crops. Examples include tobacco, potato and tomato.

large and economically important family of herbs or shrubs or trees often strongly scented and sometimes narcotic or poisonous; includes the genera Solanum; Atropa; Brugmansia; Capsicum; Datura; Hyoscyamus; Lycopersicon; Nicotiana; Petunia; Physalis; Solandra

The Solanaceae is a family of flowering plants, many of which are edible, while others are poisonous (some have both edible and toxic parts). The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear; it has been suggested it originates from the Latin verb solari, meaning "to soothe". This would presumably refer to alleged soothing pharmacological properties of some of the psychoactive species found in the family.