68 NOTES OX THE WILD POTATO. 



hoariness, and its unwillingness to produce tubers. When placed 

 by the side of the Maglia of Chile, there is no apparent distinc- 

 tion. It seems to be a white-flowered variety of the Solanura 

 ■verrucosum, figured by Professor Schlechtendahl in liis Hortus 

 Halensis, Fig. 2 ; his plants were raised in the Halle garden 

 from tubers sent from Mineral del Monte by Mr. Charles Ehren- 

 berg, upon whose authority it is stated to be common by path- 

 ways in woods, among ruins of walls (m muris), and elsewhere. 

 I am unable to discover any botanical distinctions between this 

 Solanum verrucosum and another wild Mexican plant, publislied 

 by Schlechtendahl and Bouche in the Verhandlunyen des vereins 

 zur JBejorderung des Gartenbaues in den Preussischen Staaten, 

 vol. ix. p. 317. That plant was from the Volcano of Orizaba, 

 at an elevation of from 10,000 to 11,000 feet, where it is said to 

 be known by the name of " Papa cimarron." The authors just 

 mentioned call it, indeed, Solanum stoloniferum, but it is not so 

 different from S. verrucosum as many cultivated potatoes are 

 from each other. 



In addition to the foregoing, which appear to prove conclusively 

 that the potato is either wild in Mexico or has become so, two 

 very different potato-bearing plants were received from Mr. 

 Uhde. 



The first of these was marked " Native Mexican Potatoes, 

 growing at 8000 to 9000 feet elevation." This proved a parti- 

 cularly dwarf sort. It was planted May 2, and was in flower 

 in the end of June. Its flowers are produced close to the 

 ground, and fruit soon succeeds them ; branches then push up, 

 and blossom at the height of 12 to 15 inches. 



The foliage and stems have a grey appearance ; and yet the 

 hairs upon them are inconsiderable in number and much scattered. 

 The leaves are from 4 to 6 inches long, pinnated like the potato, 

 and often with numerous small leaflets placed between the larger 

 ones ; but many leaves consist of large leaflets alone. The latter 

 form two to three pairs, with a terminal odd one ; they are ex- 

 tremely blunt, broadest at the end, flat, and perfectly sessile. 

 The flowers are nearly an inch across, and bright violet, ar- 

 ranged in loose terminal dicliotomous somewhat scorpioid ra- 

 cemes. Tlie calyx is hairy, and is 5-cleft with acute triangular 

 acuminate teeth. The corolla is 10-toothed, with a nearly cir- 

 cular outline, and reflexed so as to hide the calyx. The stamens 

 are small in proportion to the size of the corolla, and shorter 

 than the style. They are succeeded by smooth globular berries 

 about as large as a black currant. Vei-y few tubers were formed. 

 Many stems had none ; and where they did occur they were 

 small, flattened, somewhat kidney-shaped, and of white colour, 

 with white, crisp, semi-transparent flesh. 



