The solanaceae as food: A natural history of the potato family
By Sandra Knapp
Close-up of the flower of the cultivated petunia, Petunia hybrida.
Potatoes, tomatoes and a host of other important fruit crops all belong to the Solanaceae plant family. But so do mandrakes, daturas and other poisonous and important medicinal plants. Sandra Knapp, of the department of botany at The Natural History Museum, explores the incredible diversity of this amazing plant family, focusing in part one on their use for food, and then for drugs and medicine in part two. Her study demonstrates the considerable contribution these species have made to humankind, in both positive and negative ways.
The solanaceae as food: A natural history of the potato family PDF (97.3 KB)
In World War II the Museum was used as a secret base to develop new gadgets for allied spies, including an exploding rat!