NIGHTSHADES. 105 
the young student should become early acquainted ; while the 
other family or order furnishes several widely distributed and 
easily recognised plants, of which one or more would almost in 
any search-excursion come under view. What in deviation and 
recapitulation is now said before we proceed, will be made still 
clearer, if the wood engravings are on this occasion once more 
and connectedly consulted. 
The well known British vernacular “ Nightshade,” has 
reference to plants of several genera, but all of one order, that of 
Solanacee. The deadly Nightshade of Hurope and North Africa 
is Atropa Belladonna, yet a most important plant in medicine, 
when administered by an experienced physician. In its powerful 
action, to dilate the pupil of the eye, it is approached also by some 
Australian Solanacez of the genera Duboisia and Anthocercis, the 
latter so called from the five radiating segments of the corolla of 
some species, a few of which occur in Victoria. The ordinary Annual 
Nightshade (Solanum nigrum) now so common on waste-ground 
and often detrimental to pastoral animals, may not be strictly 
indigenous, as it has found its way gradually to most parts of 
the globe. The small black berries are poisonous ; therefore 
children cannot be sufficiently warned to abstain from them, 
though at times the poison-principle (an alkaloid called 
Solanin) seems little or not developed. Indeed like in most or 
perhaps all Solanums the foliage is very poisonous, so also that 
of the Potato-plant (Solanum tuberosum), which is so powerfully 
narcotic as to prevent, even when placed around fruit-trees, the 
access of insects. Potato-berries contain also Solanin, and so 
those of Solanum aviculare, on which our colonists have very 
inappropriately bestowed the name Kangaroo-Apple, while in 
literal scientific translation it ought to be called Bird’s Night- 
shade, because Captain Cook’s companions observed in New 
Zealand, that birds were feeding on the berries of this bush. 
Illustrated at Fig. XLIX. is the allied Solanum vescum or 
Gunyang of the natives. The last-mentioned species differs 
from 8. aviculare in usually green not dark-purplish branches, 
in sessile decurrent somewhat rough and less shining leaves, 
in more tender often less deeply cleft corollas seldom whitish 
