350 SOLANACE^. (nightshade FAMU.Y.) 



2. CAPSICUM, Tomn. Hko-Pkitkr. 



Calyx ciip-sliapcd, 5 - 7-toothed. Corolla wheel-shaped, 5 - 7-clcft, plaited. 

 Stamens 5 - 7, inserted on the throat of the corolla, exscrted • authei-s connivcnt, 

 opening lengthwise. Stigma obtuse. Berry juicclcss, partly 2-3-cellcd, many- 

 seeded. — Herbs or shrubs, with acrid juice, solitary flowers, and red berries. 



1. C. frutescens, L. Shrubby, smooth ; stem branching; leaves oblon;;- 

 ovatc, obtuse, entire, acute or rounded at the base, petioled, often by pairs ; 

 calyx obscurely toothed, long-peduncled, erect ; berry oblong, shorter tlian the 

 peduncle. —»• South Florida. — Stem l°-2°high. Leaves 1' long. Flowers in 

 tlie forks of the branches. Berry 4"- 6" long. 



3. PHYSALIS, L. Gkound-Ciikurv. 



Calyx .5-toothcd, inflated in fruit, and enclosing the juicy berry. Corolla 

 short-bell-sliaped, plaited, 5-lobed or 5-angled. Stamens .5, inserted on the tube 

 of the corolla : anthers separate, opening lengthwise. Stigma obtuse. Seeds 

 flat, kidney-shaped. — DifFuscly branching herbs, with alternate petioled leaves, 

 which are often by pau-s, and solitary nodding flowers in their axils, or in the 

 forks of the branches. 



* Perennial: peduncles common] ij longer than the petiole: corolla 8"- 10" in diam- 

 eter, spotted in the throat with brown or purple. 



1. P. viscosa, L. Pubescent or hairy ; root slender, elongated ; stems 

 erect, at length diffusely branched, angled ; leaves ovate, entire or angularly 

 toothed, acute or obtuse, rounded or cordate at the base ; caly.x hairy, with 

 triangular-ovate lobes ; corolla pubescent, yellow, with 5 large brovn sjjots in 

 the throat ; style and filament^ purple; anthers yellow; fruiting calyx oblong- 

 ovate, sharply 5-angled, concave or truncate at the base ; berry globose, viscid. 

 (P. heterophylla, Nees. P. Pennsylvanica, L.) — Dry light or sandy soil, Flor- 

 ida to Mississippi, and northward. July -Oct. — Stems ^°-2° high, sometimes 

 purple ; the pubescence often viscid, jointed, or rough. Leaves 1'- 2' long, the 

 uppermost rarely acute and unequal at the ba^c. Corolla obscurely lobed. 

 Fruiting calyx I'-l^' long. 



2. P. lanceolata, Michx. Pubescent ; leaves ovate-lanceolate or oblong, 

 obtuse, but often attenuate at the apex, entire, wavy, or coarsely and obtusely 

 toothed on the margins, acute and commonly very unequal at the base ; calyx 

 pubescent, the lobes long-acuminate from an ovate base ; corolla 5-lobcd, or some- 

 what lO-lobcd or toothed, yellow in the throat ; fruiting calyx ovate or globose- 

 ovate, .5-angled. (P. Elliottii, Kunzc. P. maritima, ^r. A. Curtis ?) — Dry sandy 

 soil, Florida to North Carolin.a. July - Oct. — Stem 1° high, erect or difl'use. 

 Leaves l'-3' long. Fruiting calyx 1'- U' long, smooth or hairy. 



.3. P. angUStifolia, Nutt. Smooth ; stem low, erect or at length diffuse, 

 3-4-angl(il ; leaves linear or lanceolate, obtu.sc, entire, narrowed gradually at 

 the base into a wintred petiole; calyx lobes short, triangular ovate, obtuse, 

 tomentose on the margins ; corolla yellow, browm.-,h purple in the throat, 



