Capsicum. XCIX. SOLANACEiE. 447 



fields. It is a large, coarse herb, 2 — 5i" high, very branching. Leaves large, 

 oblong, decurrent. Corolla slightly lobed, pale blue, white and with 5 blue spots 

 in the centre. July — Sept. ^ 



6. physAlis. 



Gr. (pvtTis, a bladder ; the inflated calyx enclosing the frmt. 



Calyx 5-cleft, persistent, at length ventricose ; corolla campanu- 

 late-rotate, tube very short, limb obscurely 5-lobed ; stamens 5, con- 

 nivent ; berry globose, enclosed within the inflated, 5-angled, colored 

 calyx. — Herbs, rarely shrubs, with axillary or supra-axillary flowers. 



1. P. viscosA. Aikin. (P. viscosa, obscura, pubescens, Pennsylvanica and 

 Philadelphica, of authars.) Yellow Henbane. Crround Cherry . — Pubescent; 



St. decumbent, herbaceous ; branches somewhat dichotomous and angular ; Ivs. 

 solitary or in pairs, ovate, more or less cordate, repand-toothed or entire ; jis. 

 solitary, axillary, pendulous. — Dry fields, roadsides, &c. Stem more or less 

 decumbent, about a foot high, often viscid as well as the whole plane. Leaves 

 very variable in the same plant, 1 — 4' long, of ^, |, or even of equal breadth, 

 acute, acuminate, or often obtuse at the apex, often abrupt at base, sometimes 

 nearly or quite entire on the margin, twice as long as the petioles ; when in 

 pairs one of them is much smaller. Corolla twice as long as the calyx, green- 

 ish-yellow, with 5 brownish spots at base inside. Fruit yellow or orange-colored, 

 not unpleasant to the taste, enclosed in the enlarged, inflated, angular calyx. Jl. 



a. Lvs. somewhat viscid, oval, subcordate, geminate. 



/?. (P. Pennsylvanica. Linn.) Lvs. ovate and lance-ovate, subentire, nearly 

 smooth, geminate. 



y. (P. obscura. Michx.) Lrvs. pubescent, broad-ovate, subcordate, subsolitary. 



05s.— Many other varieties have been noticed as species, but having exanoined specimens in numerous 

 localities, I am but confirmed in concurring with Dr. Aikin in the above view. 



2. P. LANCEOLATA. Michx. Lancc-kaved Physalis. 



St. herbaceous, dichotomously branched, densely pubescent ; lvs. mostly 

 in pairs, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, entire, unequal at base ; Jls. solitary, nod- 

 ding ; cal. villose. — % Penn., Western States, S. to Ga. Stem 1 — 2f high. 

 Leaves 3 — 6' by 1^ — 3', often very unequal at base. Flowers nodding. Calyx 

 half-cleft, with lanceolate, acuminate segments. Corolla pale greenish-yellow, 

 with dark spots at base. JL- Darl. Fl. Cest., p. 139. — I strongly suspect this to 

 be only another variety of the preceding. 



P. Alkekengi. Winter Cherry. — St. somewhat branching below ; lvs. in pairs, 

 entire, acute ; cal. of the fruit red or reddish. — Native of S. Europe, cultivated 

 for ornament. Plant about a foot high. Flowers white. Berries acid and 

 somewhat bitter, f 



7. CAPSICUM. Toum. 



Gr. KawTU), to bite; from the acridity of the fruit- 



Calyx erect, 5-cleft, persistent ; cor. rotate, tube very short, limb 

 plaited, 5-lobed ; anth. connivent ; fr. capsular, dry, inflated, 2 — 3- 

 celled ; seeds flat, very acrid. — A large genus of herbaceous or shrubby 

 plants, pervaded by a heating, acrid principle. Lvs. often in pairs. 

 Fed. axillary, solitary. 



1. C. ANNUL'M. Red Pepper. Cayenne Pepper. — St. herbaceous, angular, 

 branching above; lvs. ovate, acuminate, entire, petiolate, glabrous; pcd. smooth, 

 axillary; cal. angular, with .short, acute lobes; cor. hbcs .spreading, longer than 

 the stamens; bcrnj oblong or subglobose, red. — (i) India. Cultivated for its 

 fruit, whose stimulant properties are well known. — There are in gardens .seve- 

 ral varieties in respect to the fruit, a. The long, or Cayenne, ft. the depressed- 

 globose or squash pepper, best lor pickling, y. the cherry pepper, used for pep- 

 per-sauce and in seasoning meat, f,. the sweet Spanish pepper, used as a salad. — 

 Sown in March in hot-beds, transplanted in May. Kcnrick, Am. Orch., p. 374. % 

 38* 



