144 SOLANACEiE. [part i. 



prickly leaves; but the flowers have all such 

 a likeness to each other, as seldom to require to 

 be botanically examined to be recognised. 



The Tomato or Love-apple, {Lycopersicum 

 esculentiim^) has flowers which bear a great 

 resemblance to those of some of the species of 

 Solanum, but the anthers open longitudinally 

 and are connected by a membrane into a kind 

 of cylinder. The seeds also are hairy ; and 

 the berry is wrinkled, and not of so firm a 

 texture as in Solanum. The flowers of this 

 plant are frequently united, so as to appear to 

 have double or treble the usual number of 

 stamens, and two or three styles ; and when 

 this is the case, the fruit appears deformed from 

 two or three of the ovaries having grown together. 

 The fruit is very good to eat, and wholesome 

 either boiled or stewed, or as sauce. There are 

 several species, all of which were formerly in- 

 cluded in the genus Solanum. 



The plants belonging to the genus Capsicum 

 have flowers which are very much like those of 

 the Tomato, and which have similar anthers ; 

 but the fruit differs in being a dry, inflated, 

 hollow berry, inclosing numerous seeds, and 

 in both the seeds and their cover having a 

 fiery biting heat to the taste. There are 

 several species with fruit of greater or less 

 size, and different colours ; generally red or 



