Taxonomy of Solanaceae Family

La familia Solanaceae es una de las mayores familias de plantas cultivadas que proporciona especies comestibles, las cuales son cultivadas, semi-cultivadas, y cosechadas de manera silvestre en ambientes locales. Una revisión de la literatura sobre biodiversidad, etnobotánica, recursos genéticos y taxonomía de la Solanaceae ha sido realizada y es presentada aquí como un inventario de especies comestibles. 15 géneros proporcionan especies utilizadas como alimento al rededor del mundo. De estos solo cuatro géneros cultivados proveen especies economicamente significativas. La mayoria de estos pertenecen al género Solanum con especies como papa, tomate, y berenjena. Otros cultivos regionales de solanáceas incluyen la naranjilla, el pepino dulce y la berenjena roja. Capsicum, Physalis y Lycium conforman el grupo que aún queda de las especies cultivadas. Los otros géneros contienen especies que pueden ser rutinariamente semi-cultivadas, aceptadas como malezas utiles o tomadas de forma silvestre. Dentro del trabajo se ha tratado de dar un número de especies comestibles de cada género.

The brinjal eggplant, Solanum melongena L. is an economically significant crop, cultivated across much of the world. The taxonomic history of the brinjal eggplant complex has nevertheless presented us with a profusion of misidentifications and nomenclatural difficulties, as well as a complex puzzle of synonymous names. As a result, a consistent and workable system of classification for this important group has so far been lacking. This has had significant implications for the assessment of the genetic resources of this crop. Furthermore, the interpretation of genomic data generated by molecular marker analysis has often been compromised by the lack of a reliable taxonomic framework, and our understanding of the phylogeny and domestication of the brinjal eggplant may consequently have been limited. A survey of previous studies based on a wide range of methodologies, including the most recent genomic analyses, is given in this paper. Based on the morphological and ecogeographical assessment of around 2500 herbarium specimens, an updated and simplified taxonomic scheme for the brinjal eggplant complex is proposed. It consists of four species which include wild relatives from Africa and the Middle East, wild and semi-cultivated relatives from South and Southeast Asia, landraces from South and Southeast Asia, and modern cultivars grown worldwide.

Over the last fifty years there has been a continual reduction in horticultural and agricultural biodiversity of nutritionally important plants, including those of the Solanaceae family. To add to this, the broad range of traditional crops previously grown on a sustainable scale in some parts of the world has been replaced by a narrow range of major crops grown as large-scale monocultures. In order to counteract this trend, and to help maintain a broad wealth of genetic resources, conservation is essential. This, in turn, helps to safeguard food security. A taxonomic inventory, covering the diversity of species in a plant group, is an important first step in conservation. The Solanaceae is one of the major plant families providing food species. A survey of the biodiversity, ethnobotany and taxonomy of subfamily Solanoideae was undertaken and is presented here as an inventory of food species. Fifteen genera provide species that are utilised for food across the world. Of these, only four genera contain economically significant cultivated food crop species. The majority of these are in the genus Solanum, whilst Capsicum, Physalis and Lycium contribute the remainder of cultivated crop species. These genera and others also comprise species that are semi-cultivated, tolerated as useful weeds, or gathered from the wild.

Describimos la nueva especie Deprea oxapampensis M. Cueva & I. Treviño (Solanaceae) a partir de un ejemplar de Oxapampa (Pasco, Perú). Se caracteriza por tener hojas elípticas de 6,5–7,8 × 1,9–2,8 cm, 3–6 flores axilares, pedicelos de 11–19 mm de longitud, corola anaranjada tubuloso-urceolada con solo 5 lóbulos, cáliz de 2,7 mm de longitud y fruto elipsoidal con el cáliz acrescente adpreso a la baya. Se discute además sobre sus relaciones con D. ecuatoriana Hunz. & Barboza.

Resumen.
La micrografía analítica es una herramienta útil para la identificación de restos vegetales en muestras de material trozado o molido que no podrían ser identificadas de forma morfológica. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer los caracteres micrográficos de las semillas de Cebil (Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul, Leguminosae) y Chamico (Datura ferox L., Solanaceae), con el fin de proporcionar parámetros empleables para su identificación en un contexto forense y toxicológico. Los caracteres micrográficos relacionados con el tegumento exterior y las esclereidas fueron los más indicados para diferenciar entre ambas especies.

Palabras clave: Chamico; Cebil; Semillas; Identificación; Micrografía analítica

Abstract.
Analytical micrography is a useful tool for the identification of plant parts that can`t be identified for its morphological characters. The aim of this work is to obtain micrographic characters of Cebil (Anadenanthera colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul, Leguminosae) and Chamico (Datura ferox L., Solanaceae) seeds for its identification in a toxicological and forensic context. The most suitable micrographic features were the ones related with exterior testa and the stone cells.

Keywords: Chamico; Cebil; Seeds; Identification; Micrographical analysis