815 



SOLAN GOOSE. 



SOLANDM. 



846 



of pith. On this account the thicker stemmed plants are collected in 

 the dry mouths and the light substance applied to a variety of uses, 

 as for making some kinds of toys, and the floats of fishermen's nets ; 

 cut into thin slices and pasted together, they are much employed for 

 making hats, which, being light and having broad brims, are well 

 suited for protecting the head from the influence of the powerful 

 Indiau son, especially if a handkerchief be put loosely into the crown 

 of the hat. This substance has also been employed for lining drawers 

 of natural history, and in its texture very much resembles the sub- 

 stance called rice-paper, which is the pith or stem of a Malvaceous 

 plant cut into thin slices. 



SOLAN GOOSE. [DUCKS.] 



SOLANA'CE M, a natural order of Plants belonging to the dicarpous 

 group of Monopetalous Exogens. This order is composed of herbs or 

 shrubs, rarely of arborescent plants, with colourless juices, round or 

 irregularly angler! stems or branches, sometimes armed with thorns or 

 prickles ; their leaves alternate, simple, entire, or lobed. The inflores- 

 cence is variable, mostly axillary, sometimes terminal ; pedicels without 

 bracts, and the flowers regular and united. The calyx is 5-parted, 

 persistent, inferior ; corolla monopetalous, hypogynous, 5-cleft or 

 4-cleft, regular, deciduous, plaited or imbricated in estivation ; stamens 

 inserted upon the corolla, as many as the segments of the limb, and 

 alternate with them; anthers bursting, mostly longitudinally, some- 

 times by pores at the apex ; ovarium 2- or 4-celled, style continuous, 

 stigma eimple; fruit either a capsule, with a double dissepiment 

 parallel with the valves, or a berry with a placenta adhering to the 

 dissepiment ; seeds numerous, sessile ; embryo straight or curved, 

 lying in fleshy albumen ; radicle next the hilum. 



This order is most closely allied to ftcrophulariacete, but is distin- 

 guished by Brown from that order by the possession of a curved or 

 spiral embryo, a pkited estivation of the corolla, and the flowers being 

 regular, with the same number of stamens as lobes. From the occur- 

 rence of many species in this order with a straight embryo, but with 

 the other characters of Solanacece, Lindley, with Bartling and others, 

 is inclined to look upon this as a secondary point, and a plaited corolla 

 and symmetrical flowers to constitute the real character of this order. 

 >S'ofcmaee and Scrop/tiUariaceo! are however so nearly allied that 

 scarcely any limits exist between them. They may be considered as 

 the connecting groups of two larger masses of plants, of which one has 

 a tendency towards regular flowers and symmetrical stamens, and the 

 other a tendency towards irregular flowers and didynamous stamens. 



The plants of this order are natives of most parts of the world, 

 without the arctic and the antarctic circles, and especially within the 

 tropics. 



Kicoliana cripa. 



ft, cutting, showing alternate leaves and monopetalous flowers ; fc, transverse 

 section of capsule with many-seeded placenta ; c t pistil ; fl t fruit ; c, seed, with 

 straight embryo surrounded with albumen. 



This order is one of the most important and interesting in its class, 

 from its bringing together plants of the greatest utility, yet possessing 

 apparently opposite properties. It is a great advantage of a natural 

 system that it brings together not only plants that are allied in struc- 

 ture, but in properties also ; but this order seems to form an exception. , 

 The Deadly Nightshade, the esculent Potato, the pungent Capsicum, ! 

 the mild Tomato, the wholesome Egg-Plan t, and the poisonous Tobacco, 

 are all found here. They will all however, on close examination, be 

 found to possess the same properties in a greater or less degree. The 

 potato, the tomato, and egg-plant possess, when uncooked, in a mild 



degree, the properties of the Nightshade, the Stramonium, and the 

 Henbane, confirming the remark of De Candolle, "that all our aliments 

 contain a small proportion of an exciting principle, which, should it 

 occur in a much greater quantity, might become injurious, but which 

 is necessary as a natural condiment." In fact, when food does not 

 contain some stimulating principle, we add it in the form of spices. 

 Many of the plants of this order are used in medicine, amongst the 

 most valuable of which are Henbane [HTOSCYAMUS], Deadly Night- 

 shade [ATKOPA], Bitter-Sweet [SoLAHUMl Stramonium [DATURA], and 

 Tobacco [NICOTIANA]. The species of Physalis were formerly used in 

 medicine, but are not now in repute in this country. P. Alkdcenyi, 

 the Common Winter Cherry, is grown as an ornameutal plant; and in 

 Arabia, and even Germany and Spain, the berries are eaten as a 

 dessert. Lycium barlarum, is known in this country as Tea-Plant, 

 and has been recommended as a substitute for the Chinese plant. 

 The Calabash-Trees of the West Indies and the American continent are 

 different species of C'rescentia, which is often referred to this order. 

 The fleshy pulp of the fruit of some is eaten, but in most species is 

 deleterious. The most valuable part of the calabashes is their rind, 

 which is tough, and it is applied by the negroea to a variety of purposes. 

 Cups, mugs, bowls, basins, and saucepans, are made from them, and 

 many other articles of household use. Cayenne-pepper [CAPSICUM] 

 is the produce of this order, as well as the potato, tomata, and egg- 

 plant [SOLANUM], which are used extensively as articles of diet. 



SOLANDKA, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Kolanacece, which has been thus named in compliment to Daniel C. 

 Solander, LL.D. The name has been applied to other genera, but is 

 now restricted to a small Solanaceous genus, which is remarkable for 

 the beauty and great size of the flowers of its species, which are 

 natives of Mexico, Jamaica, and Brazil, with a doubtful species in 

 Ceylon, forming large scandent shrubs, with broad alternate leaves 

 crowded at the extremities of the branches with the solitary extra- 

 axillary or terminal flowers. The genus is characterised by having a 

 sheath-like calyx splitting on one side, and 3-5 cleft at the apex. 

 Corolla funnel-shaped and ventricose, with a plicate quinquefid limb and 

 undulated lobes. Stamens 5 ; anthers versatile, opening longitudinally. 

 Berry pulpy, covered by the split calyx, 4-celled, many-seeded. These, 

 being highly ornamental plants, are cultivated in our hothouses, but, 

 requiring moisture and much room, are difficult to flower. Sweet 

 says the best way is to plant them iu a loamy soil, and allow them to 

 grow fast at first, till they have made a great many shoots ; then keep 

 them very dry till their leaves drop off, and they will produce plenty 

 of flowers. The best way to have plants flower young is to take the 

 cuttings from the flowering shoots. 



SOLAN OCKINITES. [ENCMNITES.] 



SOLA'NUM, the name of one of the most extensive genera of 

 Plants, the type of the natural order Solanacece. This genus is distin- 

 guished by the following characters : Calyx permanent, 5-10-parted; 

 corolla rotate ; anthers oblong, connivent, opening by two pores at the 

 extremity. Fruit a berry, subglobose, 2-celled, sometimes 3-4-celled. 

 The species are herbs or shrubs, unarmed or prickly, rarely spiny. 

 The leaves are entire, sinuated or lobed, mostly alternate. 



Upwards of 400 species of plants belonging to this genus have been 

 enumerated, including many with apparently very opposite properties. 

 The esculent Tomato, the Egg-Plant, and the invaluable Potato, with 

 the various species of poisonous Night-Shades, are found uuited so 

 closely by botanical characters that it is impossible generically to 

 separate them. The properties of these plants however do not diftev 

 in kind but in degree; and the berries and leaves, and even the tubers 

 when uncooked, of the Potato, possess in a mild degree the narcotic 

 properties of the poisonous Nightshades. Many of them have also 

 very handsome flowers, and are much cultivated in our gardens and 

 greenhounes. From the immense list of species belonging to this 

 genus, we shall select for description a few of those that are used as 

 medicines or food, or are much cultivated. 



& tuberosum, Common Potato, is known iu the genus by its 

 tuberous subterranean stem, herbaceous stems without thorns, un- 

 equally pinnate leaves with entire leaflets, and articulated pedicles. 

 It is one of the plants for which we are entirely indebted to America. 

 It is found native iu the greatest abundance on the western coast of 

 South America. Like most plants which are much cultivated, an 

 abundance of varieties have been produced from the original plant, 

 and in the leaves, colour of the flowers, shape, size, and colour of the 

 tubers, it has a great tendency to depart from its normal character. 

 [POTATO, in ARTS AND Sc. Div.] Two other species of Solanum, 

 namely, .S'. Valcnzuda, and S. montanmn, produce edible tubers, but 

 they are little used. 



S. niyrum, Common or Garden Nightshade. Stem herbaceous, 

 without thorns ; leaves ovate, bluntly toothed, and waved ; umbels 

 lateral, drooping. Throughout Kurope it is a weed in cultivated 

 ground, and is also found in Africa and Asia. It is common in 

 gardens, fields, and waste pkces in Great Britain. It has white 

 flowers, producing small berries of a black colour. 



S. dulcamara, Woody Nightshade, or Bitter-Sweet. Stem shrubby, 

 thorniest, climbing, flexuous ; leaves cordate, upper ones jagged ; 

 corymbs almost opposite the leaves. It is a native of Europe, Asia, 

 and North America, in hedges and among bushes. It is plentiful in 

 Great Britain. It has purple flowers and crimson, berries, which 



