A plant called 'Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow'
The family Solanaceae , the so-called nightshade family, contains many very familiar edible plants which include the chili pepper ( Capsicum annuum ), eggplant ( Solanum melongena ), the potato ( S. tuberosum ), and tomato ( S. lycopersicum ); the economically important tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum , and N. rustica ) also belongs to this family. Well known horticulturally important representatives include the nipple plant ( S. mammosum ), and Petunia . Few genera contain fragrant flowers, and these include the angel's trumpet ( Brugmansia ssp.), and the plant we are featuring here, Brunfelsia pauciflora* . Brunfelsia is a genus native to the neotropics and was established by Swedish botanist Carl von Linné, in honor of German botanist Otto Brunfels, German botanist and theologian who, together with Linné, helped develop botany in accordance to the rigors of scientific inquiry. Plants in this genus have a few species in cultivation, and are popular due to their ...