MT 



SOLAN UM. 



SOLENODON. 



818 



latter mar be mistaken by children for red currants, a mistake that 

 has sometimes been attended with fatal const-queue**. 



& Mrionyma, Egg-Plant, Mad Apple, or Jew s Apple. Stem herba- 

 ceous, woody at the buo, clothed with star-shaped hairs ; ovate 

 terrated leaTet ; flowering peduncles reflexed ; fertile peduncle soli- 

 tary, sterile one racemoae ; calyx campanulate ; corolla tuigular. It 

 it a native of the East Indies, and aim said to be of Arabia. This 

 plant baa purple flowers, and bears large smooth shining berries, 

 which are the shape and size of a small hen's egg. Two varieties of 

 this plant are recorded the & M. (/rigerum, in which the stem, calyx, 

 and leaves are without thorns ; and the H. acuUntum, in which 

 these parts are more or less covered with thorns. Several sub-varieties 

 of both these are recorded, varying in the shape and colour of the 

 fruit. The berries are mostly of a white colour, but in some of the 

 sub-varieties they are yellow, red, purple, and black. The fruit of 

 this plant is used by the French and Italians in stews and soups. 

 For this purpose the varieties used are the oval-shaped white, the 

 globular-anaped white, and the purple or violet-coloured of both 

 forma. In cultivating them they may be reared in hot-beds in a rich 

 light soil, or in fine summers they will even produce their fruit in this 

 country against a wall, if planted out in June after having been struck 

 in a hotbed. 



& Sodomrum, Sodom Egg-Plant, or Apple of Sodom. Stem shrubby, 

 diffuse; prickles straight, dilated at the base; leaves oblong-sinuate, 

 shining above, and rather scabrous and prickly on both surfaces; 

 lobes obtuse-angular ; peduncles bifid. It is a native of the North of 

 Africa and the south of Europe. The fruit of this plant is white, 

 and about the size of a walnut It is very subject to the attacks of 

 an insect which deposit* its eggs within the germen, and as the fruit 

 enlarges, the larvae of the insect, as in the case of many other fruits, 

 destroy and pulverise the whole of the interior, whilst the rind is left 

 unchanged and entire. When the fruit is gathered under these cir- 

 cumstances, it is crushed to pieces by the hand ; or if conveyed to 

 the lips, the mouth becomes filled with an ash-like powder, exceedingly 

 bitter to the taste. To these berries remarkable properties have been 

 assigned by Josephus, Tacitus, and other*. Mandeville, an old English 

 writer, says, speaking of the Dead Sea, " And there besyden groweu 

 trees that bareu fulle faire apples and faire of colour to beholden, 

 butte wboeoe breakethe them or cuttethe them in two, he shall find 

 within them coles and cyndres." Milton finely alludes to this fruit 

 in the lines : 



" Greedily they pluck'd 



The fruitage fair to tight, like thnt which grew 



Near that bituminous lake where Sodom flumrd. 



TbU more delunlve, not the touch but Ute 



Deceived ; they fondly thinking to allay 



Their appetite with gust, instead of fruit 



Chewed bitter ashen." 



.*'. innclum, Palestine Egg-Plant Stem shrubby, tomentose ; leaves 

 ovate rc| and, oblique at the base, clothed with hoary totneutum on 

 both surfaces. Berries nearly globose. This plant is a native of Pales- 

 tine ; it is often found in collections of plants. There are several other 

 sptcies of AWanum, which, on account of the size, form, and colour 

 of their fruits, are tailed Egg-Plants, as .S. Jntlicum, the Indian Egg- 

 1'lant, &c. 



& jKihiiqiicum, /Ethiopian Nightshade. Stem herbaceous ; leaves 

 ovate-repand, angular; peduncles usually 1-flowered, drooping. 

 Berries torulose. It is a native of Ethiopia, China, and Japan. There 

 are two varieties recorded : one, the S. Ji. riolaccum, is a native 

 of China, and the fruit is frequently eaten in that country as a dessert 

 It has a large spheroid oval berry of a red colour. The other variety 

 \ the fi. *,. aeultatum, having a prickly stem, and small yellow 

 berries of the size of peas. 



S. fKudo-ijuina, False Quina Nightshade. Stem shrubby, unarmed. 

 Leaves oblongo-lanceolate, narrow, acute-entire, glabrous above, but 

 with fascicles of villi in the axils of the nerves beneath. Racemes 

 extra-axillary, short ; calyx glabrous. This plant is a native of Brazil 

 in the district of Curitibo, in St Paul without the tropics. Tli- 1 

 Brazilians use this for the tame purposes as the Quina, or Jesuits 

 Bark. It is intensely titter, and may with advantage be used as a 

 substitute for that bark. 



>'. iti-lxucifuliuiii, Mullein-Leaved Nightshade. Stem shrubby ; 

 leaves ovs to oblong, acuminated, entire, tomentose, white beneath, 

 without any leaves in the axils; corymbi nearly terminal, dichoto- 

 mous ; calyx semi-quinquefid. It is a native of Asia, America, and 

 the tropical parU of Australia. This plant if frequently cultivated. 

 Every part is covered with a powdery white tomentuin. The flowers 

 are white, and the beiries are of the size of small cherries. 



S. Lfcopenicum of Liunicus, Common Love Apple or Tomato. This, 

 with some other of the older specicn of .SO/CIHHI, now form the genus 

 lyfOjxrticum, which is distinguished by possessing a calyx 6-0 parted ; 

 corolla rotate, 5-6 cleft ; stam. ns 5 ; anthers conical, connate at their 

 extremities by an elongated membrane, and dehiscing lengthwise 

 insid- ; berry 2-3-celled ; seeds villous. The present species w called 

 L. ttctUcnlui* ; it has herbaceous pilose stems; unequally pinnate 

 leaves ; leaflets cat, attenuated at the apex, glaucous beneath; flower* 

 many, united ; berries torulote. Thin plant is a native of South 

 America, but it is much cultivated and well known in the United 



State* of North America, and in France. Germany, and Italy. When 

 ripe the fruit has an acid flavour, and is added to soups, sauces, &c. 

 It is also used in confectionary as a preserve, and sometimes as a 

 pickle. It is not often used in this country, but in Italy, near Rome 

 and Naples, whole fields are covered with it, and scarcely a dish is 

 nerved up into which it does not enter as an ingredient In the 

 cultivation of these plants the seed should be town in March in a 

 hot-bed, and when 2 inches high they may be pricked out into another 

 hot-bed. In May they should be transplanted into a warm south 

 border, where they may have the full sun, and the fruit may ripen 

 quickly. The stem runs up 6 or 8 feet high, and should be trained 

 to stakes or nailed up a wall or pales. The fruit begins to ripen in 

 August, and may be gathered in October, and, when kept dry, will 

 keep good till November. There are several varieties cultivated ; the 

 best are called the Large and Small Cherry and Pear-Shaped Red, and 

 the Large and Small or Cherry-Shaped Yellow. The size of the fruit 

 is seldom larger than a golden-pippin apple. (Don's Miller, voL iv., 

 p. 444.) 



Several other species of Solatium aro recorded as having medical 

 properties. Jacquini is considered by the native practitioners of 

 India as an expectorant ; S. Jlaliamaue is used as a gargle for sore 

 throat in the West Indies; S. mammotum, S. paniculatam, aud .S 

 cernuum, have the reputation of being diuretic and astringent. 



(Lindley, Flora Medica, p. 612.) 



SOLA'RIUM. [THOCHID.E.] 



SOLASTERM3, or SOLASTERIN^E, a sub-family of Attcriadn, 

 including thosa forms of Star-Fishes which have two ranges of 

 suckers in each avenue. There are two British genera, CribeUa and 

 Botatttr. 



CribtUa has only a few rays covered with spine-bearing warts; 

 the intermediate spaces porous ; the avenues bordered by two eeU of 

 spines. 



There are two species which are not uncommon on the shores of 

 the British Islands, C, oculata and C. rosca. 



SoUuter (Forbes) has many rays studded over with bundles of 

 spines ; the avenues bordered by three sets of spines. 



S. papposa, the Rosy Sun-Star, is common on the eastern coasts of 

 Great Britain, where, on account of the number of its rays, it is called 

 Ten-Fingers. It is of a deep red or orange colour. Another British 

 species is 5. tndeca. [ECHI.VOUEUMATA.] 



SOLDANELLA, a genus of Plants belonging to the natural order 

 Primulaceee. Some of the species aro slightly purgative. 



SOLE. [PLEUROSKCTID.E.] 



SOLEA. [PLEUIIONECTID.E.] 



SOLECURTUS. [PTLORIDIA.] 



SOLE.MYA. [PYLOHIDU.] 



SOLEN. [PVLOBIDIA.] 



SOLENA'CEA. [PTLORIDIA ] 



SOLENE'LLA (Sowerby), a genus of MoUusca. 



SOLENID^E. [PVLORIDIA.] 



SOLEN I'TES, a Fossil Plant from the Yorkshire coast (Liudley.) 



SOLE'NODON, a genus of Insectivorous Mammalia established by 

 l!rnudt on a specimen Bent from the island of Hispanioli by Jiiger. 

 The habit is generally between that of .Sorex and Didclpkyt. Muzzle 

 elongated, the snout smooth, produced, and with nostrils at the sides 

 of its apex. Eyes minute. Ears large, rounded, nearly naked. Body 

 hairy. Stern aud upper part of the rump beset with a* few very 

 short silky hairs. Feet ambulatory, plantigrade, pentadactylous ; 

 claws falcular, those of the fore feet the longest Teats inguinal (.') 

 Tail long, smooth, and for the most part scaly. Dental Formula : 



a a o 



Incisors, _; Molars (spurious) ; true Molars - = 40. 



ii 68 



The skull of Solcnodon is considerably elongated : the occipital, 

 parietal, and temporal bones are moderately convex ; and the condyles 

 of the occipital are prominent. There is an obtuse crest on the 

 sagittal suture, but none on the coalesced frontal bones. The internal 

 pterygoid processes alone aro conspicuous, thin, and joined by a 

 suture with the perpendicular parts of the palatal bone. There is 

 no bony bulla, aud consequently the interior wall of the tympanic 

 cavity is only closed by skin. There is no zygomatic arch. The 

 coronoid process of the mandible is dilated and directed outwards. 

 The angle of the mandible is dilated, gubtetrsgonally rounded, and 

 prominent above the condyloid part 



The two anterior upper incisor teeth are the largest, disjoined from 

 the others, jwrpi ndicular, and unicuspid ; the two anterior lower 

 iiifi-urs are very short and very narrow; the two middle are the 

 longest, and conical, and excavated on the internal surface with a 

 rather deep triangular canal Brandt remarks that the structure of 

 the teeth manifests a greater similitude to that of Mygalc than any 

 other genus. 



& faradortu bos the sides of the head and neck dilute yellow-brown, 

 mixed with ferruginous, and occasionally with gray. Abdomen and 

 feet dilute yellow-brown, with hardly a mixture of gray. Space upon 

 the breast between tint anterior limbs dilute ferruginous, extended 

 to the internal side of the feet, and anteriorly to the cubit A simi- 

 larly coloured space occupies the inguinal region, and also extends 

 upon the anterior part of the legs. Upper part (dorsum) of the 



