plant (Solanum me- 
longena) of tropic 
Asia, and _ several 
other Nightshades 
(concerning which 
the writer’s work on 
select plants eligible 
for culture and natu- 
ralization in Victoria 
may be consulted) 
together with the 
likewise solanaceous 
“Cape Gooseberry ” 
(Physalis Peruviana) 
afford well known es- 
culent fruits. Vic- 
toria possesses as a 
member of this order 
also a Wild Tobacco 
(Nicotiana suaveo- 
lens), with greenish- 
yellow flowers. The 
genus Nicotiana was 
dedicated to Jean 
Nicot, French Am- 
bassador in Portugal, 
who more than 300 
years ago introduced 
the smoking of to- 
bacco into France. 
In contrast with So- 
lanum it is chiefly 
characterised by a 
NIGHTSHADES. 107 
Fie. L. 
Fie. L.—(Solanum vescum).—1, flowerbud ; 2, flower 
seen from above; 38, stamen, several times enlarged ; 
4, pollen-grain, 300 times diametrically magnified ; 5, 
pistil, several times enlarged; 6, transverse section 
of berries, natural size; 7, seed enlarged and opened 
to show the embryo. 
tubular corolla, by the capsular dehiscent fruit and the innu- 
merable minute seeds, with a but slightly curved embryo. 
Solanum as a genus is one of the richest of the whole globe, the 
number of species being recently estimated by’ Bentham and 
