petunia
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petunia
Petunia
a genus of annual or perennial herbaceous plants of the family Solanaceae. The branching stems are often glandular-hairy. The leaves are entire, and the flowers are solitary and usually large. The corolla, which is violet, reddish, or white, has a cylindrical or hornlike tube and a funnelform or salverform blade with five lobes. The fruit is a capsule.
There are approximately 15 species (according to other data, as many as 40), distributed in South America and in the southern part of North America. Numerous varieties are used as annual ornamentals: they are used as plant borders or planted in flower beds or pots. The varieties are combined under the general name of the common garden petunia (P. × hybrida) and are differentiated according to stem length, size, and the shape and color of the flowers.