Solandra
Encyclopedia
Solandra is a genus of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the nightshade
Solanum
Solanum, the nightshades, horsenettles and relatives, is a large and diverse genus of annual and perennial plants. They grow as forbs, vines, subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees, and often have attractive fruit and flowers. Many formerly independent genera like Lycopersicon or Cyphomandra are...

 family, Solanaceae
Solanaceae
Solanaceae are a family of flowering plants that include a number of important agricultural crops as well as many toxic plants. The name of the family comes from the Latin Solanum "the nightshade plant", but the further etymology of that word is unclear...

. It is named after the Swedish naturalist Daniel C. Solander
Daniel Solander
Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.-Biography:...

.

The vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

s it contains are commonly known as Chalice Vines and are native to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. They have very large flowers and glossy foliage.

It was once (and likely still is) used by the Huichol of Mexico and other tribes of the region where it is known by the name "Kieli" or "Kieri" with some archaeological evidence supporting the theory that its use predates that of "Peyote" (Lophophora williamsii). [1]

Selected species

  • Solandra grandiflora
    Solandra grandiflora
    Solandra grandiflora is a species of Chalice Vine - Solandra, a vine with large ornamental flowers. It is native to the Americas....

    Sw.
    Olof Swartz
    Olof Peter Swartz was a Swedish botanist and taxonomist. He is best known for his taxonomic work and studies into pteridophytes...

  • Solandra longiflora Tussac
  • Solandra maxima
    Solandra maxima
    Solandra maxima, also known as Cup of Gold Vine, Golden Chalice Vine, or Hawaiian Lily, is a vigorous vine which is endemic to Mexico and Central America. It has very large yellow flowers and glossy leaves.-References:*...

    (Sessé & Moc.) P.S.Green – Golden Chalice Vine, Cup of Gold, Hawaiian Lily
  • Solandra nitida

External links

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