Petunia
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- For Petunia Pig, a Looney Tunes character, see: Petunia Pig
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Petunia Flower
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Petunia is a widely-cultivated genus of flowering plants, in the family Solanaceae. The popular flower got its name from French. In that language, the word "petun" once meant "tobacco". The French adopted the term from a local Indian dialect from the Amazon. Most of the varieties seen in gardens are hybrids. A wide range of flower colors and sizes are available.
Some botanists place the plants of the genus Calibrachoa in the genus Petunia. Botanically, tobacco plants and petunias are related.
The foliage of Petunias are sometimes eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Dot Moth and Hummingbird hawk moth.
If growing petunias, it's best to leave them in full sunlight and only water them when their soil is dry to the touch. Though commonly thought to be annual plants, Petunias are perennial, which means that they actually may survive for several years under ideal conditions.