STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 1297 



Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia); " chichiquelite " (Durango) ; " tzopilotlaquatl " 

 (Ramirez); " thucupache xaqua " (Miclioacdn, Tarascan, Ledn) ; " bitaxe " 

 (Oaxaca, Zapotec, Reko) ; " mata-gallinas " (Porto Rico). 



Black nightshade is a common weed in Mexico as well as in the United 

 States. The berries are commonly believed to be poisonous and there is little 

 doubt that they are in some instances, but some forms of the plant have been 

 introducd into cultivation under the names " wonderberry " and " garden 

 huckleberry," and their fruit is quite harmless and highly valued by many 

 persons, especially for making pies. In Mexico and Central America the young 

 shoots and leaves are commonly cooked as a pot herb, and the same practice is 

 followed in Mauritius, Madagascar, and other countries. In Sinaloa the root 

 is said to have been employed as a remedy for bubonic plague. Elsewhere in 

 Mexico the fruit is a domestic remedy for erysipelas, and a decoction of the 

 plant is employed as a fomentation for sore eyes and for various skin diseases. 

 The leaves are sometimes applied as poultices to allay pain. In Europe the 

 plant is generally reputed to have narcotic properties, and in Bohemia the 

 leaves are placed in the cradles of infants to promote sleep. 



Solanum nigrum is a somewhat variable plant, and many of the forms (in- 

 cluding several from Mexico) have been described as distinct species. 



29. Solanum triquetrum Cav. Icon. PI. 3: 30. pi. 259. 1794. 

 Coahuila, Nuevo Le6n, and San Luis Potosf. Western Texas. 



Plants erect or subscandent, a meter high or less, suffrutescent, nearly gla- 

 brous ; leaves 5 cm. long or less, most of them triangular-hastate or lance- 

 hastate, acute or acuminate ; cymes umbelliforra, few-flowered ; corolla white 

 or violet ; fruit red, about 1 cm. in diameter. 



30. Solanum xanti A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. 11: 90. 1876. 

 Northern Baja California. California ; type from Fort Tejon. 



Plants suffrutescent, the stems viscid-pubescent ; leaves lanceolate to ovate, 

 1 to 4 cm. long, obtuse, entire or sometimes auriculate-lobate at base, 

 viscid-pubescent ; corolla blue or violet, about 2 cm. broad ; fruit purplish 

 black. 



31. Solanum brachystachys Dunal in DC. Prodr. 13': 128. 1852. 



Solanum lucidum Mart. & Gal. Bull. Acad. Brux. 12': 137. 1845. Not -S'. 

 lucidum Moric. 1830. 



Solanum venosum Sendtn. in Mart. Fl. Bras. 10: 29. 1846. Not S. venosum 

 Humb. & Bonpl. 1819. 



Mexico, Oaxaca, and Chiapas ; type from Chalco, Mexico. Guatemala. 



Shrub ; leaves petiolate, lanceolate to elliptic, 6 to 9 cm. long, short-acu- 

 minate or acute, obtuse or acute at base, glabrous above, glabrous beneath 

 or when young with a loose feltlike tomentum ; corolla 8 to 10 mm. broad ; fruit 

 glabrous, about 1 cm. in diameter. 



Solanum nigricans Mart. & Gal.,i described from Oaxaca, is a closely related 

 plant and perhaps not distinct. 



32. Solanum nudum H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 33. 1818. 



Michoacan to Veracruz and Chiapas; type from Jalapa, "Veracruz. Central 

 America. 



Shrub, 2 to 4.5 meters high, the branches glabrous; leaves oblong-lanceolate 

 to elliptic, 15 cm. long or less, acute at base, usually barbate beneath along 

 the costa ; corolla white, 4 to 6 mm. long ; fruit about 1 cm. in diameter. 



The Mexican specimens have usually been referred to S. triste Jacq. 



'Bull Acad. Brux. 12': 134. 1845. 



