Withania is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae, with 19 to 23 species that are native to parts of North Africa, western Asia, south Asia, southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Islands.[1] Withania was initially included within Physalis by Linnaeus in 1753 but has since become its own genus.[2] This grouping was due to the shared feature of an inflated Calyx that surrounds and protects the fruit.
Two of the species, W. somnifera (ashwagandha) and W. coagulans (ashutosh booti), are economically significant, and are cultivated in several regions for their medicinal uses.[1]
Withania is thought to have been named in honour of Henry Witham, a British geologist and writer on fossil botany beginning in 1830.[3]
19 species are accepted.