NIGHTSHADE FAMILY (SOLANACEAE) 



231. Tabacon 



A shrub or small tree characterized by: (1) 

 large, thin, elli))tic, alternate leaves long-pointed 

 at ai)ex, the base also long-pointed and gradually 

 narrowed into the long petiole, both surfaces 

 slightly rough and bearing minute star-shaped 

 hairs; (2) many widely spreading star-shaped 

 white flowers % inch across the 5 narrow pointed 

 lobes, borne in terminal flattened clustei-s; and (3) 

 many round yellow berries i/4 inch in diameter, 

 green when immature. 



A spreading evergreen shrub or tree 12-15 feet 

 high with trunk 2-3 inches in diameter, branching 

 at wide angles. The light gray bark is smoothish 

 and slightly warty, the inner bark soft, whitish, 

 and slightly bitter. The greenish twigs bear many 

 minute star-shaped hairs and are slightly rough. 

 Spineless tliroughout, though many species of this 

 genus are spiny. 



The alternate leaves have long petioles i/^-lV2 

 inches long, appearing winged from the tapering 

 leaf base. Blades are mostly 5-10 inches long and 

 2-A inches broad, green above and paler beneath, 

 not toothed on edges. 



The long-stalked branching and flattened flower 

 clusters (corymbs) are 2-3 inches across. The 

 short-stalked flowers have a bell-shaped tubular 

 calyx %6 iiich long, densely hairy and with 5 

 pointed lobes ; white corolla with short tube and 5 

 hairy lobes more than 14 inch long, spreading like 

 a star; 5 stamens %6 i^^ch long, inserted on corolla, 

 with large yellow anthers opening by pores at 

 apex ; and pistil with 2-celled ovary more than i/ig 

 inch in diameter and slender slightly curved style 

 ^/iQ inch long. The berries have calyx at base and 

 contain many small, rounded, flat, brown seeds Vie 

 inch in diameter. Flowering and fruiting through 

 the year. 



The whitish wood is soft and brittle. 



In open areas, such as roadsides, thickets, plan- 

 tations, and river banks in the moist coastal, lime- 

 stone, and mountain forest regions of Puerto Rico. 



Public forests. — Carite, Guajataca, Luquillo, 

 Maricao, Toro Negro. 



Solarium rugosum Dunal 



Range. — Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Guadeloupe, 

 Dominica, and Martinique. Also from Guatemala 

 to Panama and from Colombia to Peru, Bolivia, 

 Brazil, Guianas, and \^enezuela. 



Other common n.\mes. — tabacon aspero, sepi 

 (Puerto Rico) ; tabacon (Dominican Republic) ; 

 cucuna (Venezuela); caiucara (Brazil). 



Botanical synonym. — Solanum a-sperv/m Vahl, 

 not L.C.Rich. 



The large and widely distributed genus of 

 nightshades {Solamtm) is represented in Puerto 

 Rico and the Virgin Islands by about 15 native 

 species of mostly spiny herbaceous weeds with 

 some shrubs and vines. Also, tabacon and the 2 

 Iwlow become small trees. The cultivated egg- 

 plant (S. melongena L.), potato {S. tuherosimn 

 L.), and a few other species planted for orna- 

 mental fruits belong to the same genus. The 

 berries of some species are edible and of others 

 poisonous. 



Tabacon afelpado, wild tobacco, or mullein 

 nightshade {Solanum verhnscifol'mm Li.; S.erimi- 

 thum D. Don), a spineless shrub and rarely a 

 small tree, is found in Puerto Rico, Mona, Muer- 

 tos, Vieques, St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and 

 Tortola, also widespread in tropical America, and 

 naturalized beyond to Florida. It has ovat« to el- 

 liptic leaves 4—12 inches long, velvety hairy with 

 minute star-shaped haire, with petioles up to 2V^ 

 inches long and not winged ; smaller white flowers 

 about 14 inch across; and roimd yellow berries 

 %-% inch in diameter. 



Erubia (Sola7mm drymophilum O. E. Schultz), 

 known only from mountain forests of Puerto 

 Rico, is a spiny shrub or small tree with straight, 

 yellow spines up to % inch long; oblong to lance- 

 shaped leaves 3-8 inches long with minute star- 

 shaped hairs denser beneath, with short petioles 

 less than % inch long; white flowers about % inch 

 across ; and round black berries less than 14 inch 

 in diameter. 



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