Lyciym. XCIX. SOLANACES. 449 
smooth, and of a glossy purple. It is prepared for food in various ways, and 
considered wholesome and delicious eating. Like the tomato, it is eultivated 
from the seed sown early in warm, dry and mellow soil. . . 
8. Fr. smaller, white.—Cultivated for the curiosity of the fruit, which.when 
ripe can scarcely be distinguished hy its appearance from a hen’s egg. 
§ 3. Berries 3—6-celled, often torose. 
“7. 8S. Lycopersicum. ‘Tomato—Hairy; st. herbaceous, weak ; lvs. unequal- 
ly pinnatifid, segments cut, glaucous beneath ; fr. torulose, furrowed, smooth,— 
@ This plant resembles the potato in its general aspect. It grows 3—4f high, 
with jagged leaves, greenish-yellow flowers, and an unpleasant odor. ‘The 
fruit is large and abundant, with acute furrows, at first. green, becoming,when 
ripe of a beautiful 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. + . 
.0ds.—Cultivation has produced numerous varieties. One has large, torulose, bright-yellow fruit; 
another has small, globose, golden-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 campanulate ; stamens 5, distant ; 
berry. globose, 2-celled, sitting on the calyx.—Herbs, shrubs or trees, 
natives of the Old World. 
{A. Betuaponna. 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. + 
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-celled; seeds several, reniform.—=Shrubs, the 
branches ending in a spinose point, and often having axillary spines. 
Fils. axillary, solitary, or in pairs. 
L. Barsirum. Matrimony Vine.—St. angular; branches long, pendulous, 
somewhat spiny; /vs. often fasciculate, lanceolate; cal. mostly 3-cleft—Native 
of Barbary, cultivated and nearly naturalized. It isa shrub, with long, slen- 
der, trailing or hanging branches which overspread walls, &c., with a thick, 
tangled 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 
