Petunia is
genus of 35 species of
flowering plants of
South American origin, closely related to
tobacco,
cape gooseberries,
tomatoes,
deadly nightshades,
potatoes and
chili peppers; in the family
Solanaceae. The popular flower of the same name derived its epithet from the French, which took the word
petun, meaning "tobacco," from a
Tupi–Guarani language. An
annual, most of the varieties seen in gardens are
hybrids (
P. × atkinsiana, also known as
P. × hybrida).