Nightshade or Potato Family. Comprised of 102 genera and about 2,280 species, many of considerable economic importance as food and drug plants. Members are annual, biennial or perennial and are usually herbs, though some species grow as shrubs or small trees. Members of this family usually have regular flowers with five petals, alternate leaves, five stamens attached to the corolla tube, and a superior ovary containing many yellowish disc-shaped seeds.