560 BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



cent at the apex or along the sides. The single ovary is 

 usually two-celled (rarely three- to five-celled, as in Ly- 

 copersicon spp.), the numerous ovules being on axile pla- 

 centas; the style is slender, simple, and the stigma terminal. 

 Fruit. — The fruit is either a berry (potato, tomato), or a 

 capsule (tobacco, petunia). In both cases, it bears numer- 

 ous seeds, which have a fleshy endosperm. 



Key to Important Genera 



Fruit a berry (Fig, 233). 

 Anthers opening by a terminal pore or slit (Fig. 232), Solanum (potato and 



eggplant). 

 Anthers opening longitudinally 

 Flowers white, Capsicum (pepper). 

 Flowers yellow, Lycopersicon (tomato). 

 Fruit a capsule (Fig. 244). 



Capsule generally prickly. Datura (thorn apple, Jimson-weed). 

 Capsule not prickly. 



Flowers paniculate or racemose; stamens nearly uniform in length, 



Nicoliana (tobacco). 

 Flowers solitary; stamens very unequal, Petunia (petunia). 



SOLANUM 



Habit. — The Solanums are either erect herbs (as S. nigrum, 

 the black nightshade, and the common potato, etc.), or 

 climbing herbs (5. dulcamara, bittersweet). In most species, 

 the stems and leaves bear a stellate (star-shaped) pubescence. 



Leaves. — The leaves are alternate, exstipulate, and lobed 

 orfpinnately dissected. 



Inflorescence, and Flowers. — The inflorescence is cymose 

 (bittersweet), umbellate (black nightshade), racemose {S. 

 carolinense, horse nettle), or rarely paniculate. The flowers 

 (Fig. 232) are perfect and regular; in color, they are white 

 (5. tuberosum varieties and S. nigrum), blue (S. ceagni- 

 folium, silver-leaved nightshade, and S. tuberosum varieties), 



