Called the nightshade family or the potato family, Solanaceae has more than 100 genera and around 2,280 species distributed throughout the world. Its members are characterized by flowers with five petals, sepals, and stamens and typically bear alternate leaves. Many species contain toxic alkaloids and a number of species are of major economic and cultural importance as food crops. The following is a list of some of the major genera and species in Solanaceae, arranged alphabetically by common name.