AMONG THE WILD FLOWERS. 135 
Nightshade, and the Tobacco Plant, Vzcotzana 
Tabacum. The anthers form a yellow cone in 
the centre, and there is usually a berry pro- 
duced, but sometimes a capsule. This is one 
of the large and important families, distin- 
guished for the beauty of its flowers, its often 
curious fruits, and the powerful and frequently 
deadly qualities of its juices. 
In most hedges you will find Solanum dulc- 
amara, Woody Nightshade, or Bitter-sweet, as 
the second name implies. Its flowers are 
violet-blue, rarely white or pink; the red 
berries are produced in elegant and tempting 
clusters. The other species, S. nzgrum, has 
black berries but white flowers, is herbaceous, 
and grows on waste ground. This genus is 
entirely distinct from A tropa Belladonna, which 
grows in waste and stony places, usually near 
ruins. Its medicinal properties, under the 
name of Belladonna—the generic name Atropa 
will be recognized as alluding to that of one 
of the Fates who cut the thread of life—are 
very valuable; but as a poison its berries are 
very dangerous. One author,’ relates that a 
1 Mr. Leo. H. Grindon. 
