SOLAXACEiE. 



300 NICOTIANA. 



N. PIIYSALOI'dES. Adan. Atropa physaloides. L. 



Stem herbaceous ; Scares glabrous, sinuate, angular ; flowers solitary, axilla- 

 ry, on short peduncles; calyx closed, with the angles very acute. Native of 

 Peru, cultivated in gardens, from whence it has in a few instances strayed 

 into the neighboring fields. It is a large, coarse herb, 2—5 feet high, very 

 branching. Leaves large, oblong, riecurrent. Corolla slightly lobed, pale 

 blue, whfte and with 5 blue spots in the centre. Jl.— Sept. Apide of Feru. 



6. A'TROPA. 



Calyx persistent, 5-cleft; corolla campanulate ; stamens 5, 

 distant; berry globose, Scelled, silting on the calyx. 



Gr. ATQOTTOi, Eng. Atropa, the name of one of the three Fates in Grecian 

 mythology whose office was to cut the thread of human life; this office, the 

 poisonous fruit of this plant is also well adapted to perform. 



A. BeLLADO'NNA. — Stem herbaceous; leaves ovate, entire; berries 

 black. This foreigner is far less repulsive in its appearance than most others 

 of its order. The lurid, pale purple of the flower, indeed, looks suspicious, 

 but not its smell ; nor is there any warning of its deadly nature given by the 

 aspect, taste ot smell of the berries which are larger than cherries, round, 

 crreen, at length of a fine glossy black, lull of a purple juice. Stem 5 feet 

 Sigh, branching below, and with the large leaves, inclines more or less to a 

 purplish hue. ''Every part of the plant, especially the berries, is poisonous. 

 July. Per. Deadly .Nightshade. 



7. DATU'RA. 



Calyx large, tubular, ventricose, 5-angled, deciduous, with 

 a persistent, orbicular, peltate base; corolla infundibuliform, 

 tube cylindric, long, limb 5-angled and plaited ; stamens 5 ; 

 stigma'obtuse, bilamellate; capsule 2-celled, 4-valved; cells 

 2— 3-parted. 



An alteration of the Arabic name tuturah. Annual herbs, with bluish 

 white or purple, solitary, axillary flowers. 



D. Stramo'nium. 



S<em dichotomous ; /eaues ovate, smooth, angular-dentate; capsule spiny, 

 erect. A well-known poisonous plant, growing among rubbish in waste 

 places. Stem about 3 feet high, smooth, hollow. Leaves large, situated at 

 the base of the dichotomous branches, their sides unequal, with large irregu- 

 lar teeth and sinuses. Flowers solitary, axillary ; corolla funnel-shaped, with 

 a long tube and a plaited, 5-toothed border, the color white with a slight tinge 

 of purple. Fruit egg-shaped, the size of a small apple, covered with spines. 

 Aug. Ann. Every part is poisonous, but, when used with certain restric- 

 tions, is a useful medicine for asthma, «S:c. 



/3. Tatula ; stem and fioicers purple. 



8 . N I C O T I A' N A . 

 Calyx urceolate, 6-cIeft; corolla infundibuliform, regular, 

 limbi-lobed; stamens 5; stigma emarginate ; capsule 2-cell- 

 ed, 2 — 4-valved. 



So named from John Nicot, of Nismes, Languedoc, ambassador of the king 

 of France to Portugal, who seems to have introduced it into Europe. Annual, 



