Lvc:uM. XCIX. SOLANACEiE. 449 



smooth, and of a flossy purple. It is prepared for food in various ways, and 

 considered wholesome and delicious entinj;. Like the tomato, it is cultivated 

 from the seed .sown early in warm, dry and mellow soil. ^ 



0. Ft. smaller, white.— Cultivated lor the curiosity of the fruit, which when 

 ripe can scarcely be distin?<uished by its appearance from a hen's egg. 



§ 3. Berries 3 — 6-celled, often torose. 



7. S. Lycopersiclm. Tomato. — Hairy; s/. herbaceous, weak ; Zrs. unequal- 

 ly pinnatifid, segments cut, glaucous beneath ; //•. torulose, furrowed, smooth.— 

 (J) This plant resembles the potato in its general aspect. It grows 3— 4f liigh, 

 with jagged leaves, greenish-yellow flowers, and an unpleasant odor. The 

 fruit is large and a1)nndant, wi"ih acute furrows, at first green, becoming when 

 ripe of a beauiilul red. This plant has come into high repute, and its cultiva- 

 tion is rapidly extending. The fruit is prepared in various ways, for sauces, 

 stews, &c., having an agreeable acid taste. | 



Ois.— Cultivation has produced numerous varieties. One has largre, torulose, bricht-yellow fruit; 

 another has small, globose, goldeii-yellow fruit, not torulose; the fruit of a third is small, pear-shaped, 

 less juicy, &c. 



9. ATROPA. 



Name of one of the three Fates in Grecian mythology, whose office was to cut the thread of human life. 



Calyx persistent. 5-cleft : corolla cauipanulate ; stamens 5, distant ; 

 berry glol)Ose, 2-celled, sitting on the calyx. — Herbs, shrubs or trees, 

 natives of the Old World. 



A. Belladonnta. Deadly Nightshade. — St. herbaceous; Ivs. 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 suspi- 

 cious, but not its smell ; nor is there any warning of its deadly nature given 

 by the aspect, taste or smell of the berries,"which are larger than cherries, round, 

 green, at length of a fine glossy black, full of a purple juice. Stem 5f high, 

 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, f 



10. LYCIUM. 



Named from Lycia, the native country of the original species. 



Calyx 2 — 5-cleft, short ; corolla tubular, limb mostly 5-lobed, 

 spreading, orifice closed by the beard of the filaments : stamens 4 — 

 5, exserted ; berry 2-cclled ; seeds several, reniform. — Shrubs, the 

 branches ending in a s'pinose "point, and often having axillary spines. 

 Fls. axillary, solitary, or in pairs. 



L. Barbarum. Matrimony Vine. — St. angular; branches long, pendulous, 

 somewhat spiny; Ivs. often fasciculate, lanceolate; cat. mo.stly 3-cleft. — Native 

 of Barbary, cultivated and nearly naturalized. It is a shrub, with long, slen- 

 der, trailing or hanging branches which overspread walls, &c., with a thick, 

 tailzied mass. Leaves smooth, 3 times as long as wide, often broadest above, 

 acute or obtuse, tapering into a petiole. Flowers greenish-purple. Berries 

 orange-red. f 



