solanaceae(n = noun.plant) family solanaceae, potato family - large and economically important family of herbs or shrubs or trees often strongly scented and sometimes narcotic or poisonous; includes the genera Solanum, Atropa, Brugmansia, Capsicum, Datura, Hyoscyamus, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana, Petunia, Physalis, and Solandra;