Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 1, 2026

Nicandra

Nicandra is a genus of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to western South America. It was first described by Michel Adanson in 1763. The genus is named for Greek poet Nicander of Colophon, who wrote about plants – notably in his poem Alexipharmaca, which treats of poisons and their antidotes.

Last revised
Jun 1, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
200 w
Citations
8
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Nicandra
Nicandra physalodes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Nicandreae
Genus: Nicandra
Adans.1
Synonyms1
  • Calydermos Ruiz & Pav.

Nicandra is a genus of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, native to western South America.1 It was first described by Michel Adanson in 1763.2 The genus is named for Greek poet Nicander of Colophon, who wrote about plants3 – notably in his poem Alexipharmaca, which treats of poisons and their antidotes.

As of March 2019, Plants of the World Online accepted three species:1

  • Nicandra john-tyleriana S.Leiva & Pereyra
  • Nicandra physalodes (L.) Gaertn.
  • Nicandra yacheriana S.Leiva

From 1763 until 2007, when Nicandra john-tyleriana was described,4 the only species in the genus was Nicandra physalodes. A third species, Nicandra yacheriana, was described in 2010.5

References

References

  1. "Nicandra Adans.", Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2019-03-28
  2. "Plant Name Details for Nicandra Adans.", The International Plant Names Index, retrieved 2019-03-28
  3. Nee, Michael (1993), "Nicandra", Jepson Manual, retrieved 2019-03-28
  4. "Nicandra john-tyleriana S.Leiva", Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2019-03-28
  5. "Nicandra yacheriana S.Leiva", Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, retrieved 2019-03-28