ORDEB 94. SOLANACE^E. 577 



prickly. Lvs. sometimes twin, pinnatifid or undivided. Ped. solitary 

 or several, 1 to oo-flowcrcd, terminal, but becoming lateral by the ex- 

 tension of the axis. 



Unarmed, Anthers ovate-elliptic, pores terminal-introrso (a). 



n, Herbaceous, with pinnatilid leaves. Kacetne exceeding the leaves No. I 



a Herbaceous, with undivided leaves. Raceme shorter than the leaves Nos. 24 



a Shrubby, climbing or erect. Berries red Nos. 5 7 



Armed with sharp spines. Anthers linear-oblong, pores terminal-extrorse (b). 



b Peduncles exceeding the leaves, rainy-flowered Nos. 8, 9 



b Peduncles shorter thau the leaves, few-flowered Nos. 10, 11 



1 S. tuberosum L. COMMOX POTATO. St. herbaceous; subterranean 

 branches bearing tubers ; Ivs. pinnatifid, segm. unequal, the alternate ones min- 

 ute; cor. 5-angled; pedicels jointed. This valuable plant is a native of the 

 Cordilleras of S. America, where it still grows wild. Although it now consti- 

 tutes so large a, portion of the food of civilized man, it was scarcely known until 

 the 17th century, and was not extensively cultivated before the middle of the 

 1 8th. The varieties of the potato are very numerous, differing in their time of 

 ripening, quality, color, form, size, almost endlessly. 



2 S. iiigrum L. BLACK NIGHTSHADE. St. herbaceous, angular, smoothish ; Ivs. 

 ovate, toothed and waved; umbels lateral, drooping. A weed-like plant, with- 

 out beauty and of suspicious aspect, about rubbish, in old fields, N. and W. 

 States. Stem erect, branching, angular, a foot high. Leaves almost always with 

 the lamina perforated and the margin erose as if gnawed by insects. Ped. gener- 

 ally midway between the leaves. Fls. white, anthers yellow. Berries globous, 

 black. Reputed poisonous, but is used medicinally. Flowers in summer 

 Eur. 



3 S. iiodiflorum Jacq. St. herbaceous or half-shrubby, branched; branches 

 terete, herbaceous, glabrous; Ivs. ovate, entire, orsubrepand, acute, glabrous; fls. 

 subumbellate, minute; stalks and cal. puberulent. 11 S. Car. to Fla. and La. 

 Stem 2 to 3f high, with a ridge descending from each petiole. Lvs. 2 to 4' long, 

 half as wide, petioles near 1'. Ped. filiform, G to 12" long, growing from thick- 

 ened nodes a little below the next leaf, bearing several (3 to 8) white fls. Cor. 

 cup-form, 2" broad. Fr. not seen. 



4 S. pycnanthum Dunal. Si. herbaceous, slender, angular-furrowed, hispid; 

 Ivs. ovate-oblong, acuminate, attenuate to a petiole, subrepand, puberulent, pale 

 beneath ; ped. short, filiform, hirsute, 1 to 3-flowered, subopposits to the leaves. 

 Ga. about Savannah (Dunal, apud DC. Sed dubito.) Plant green. Lvs. 1 to 2' 

 by 3 to 8", petioles 2 to 5". Fls. nodding, 2 to 3'' broad, white? Anthers yel- 

 low. Berry globular. 



5 S. Dulcamara L. BITTERSWEET. WOODY NIGHTSHADE. St. shrubby, flexu- 

 ous ; Ivs. ovate-cordate, upper ones hastate or laciniate : clusters cymous, suboppo- 

 site and terminal. A well-known shrubby climber, with blue flowers and red 

 berries, K Eng. to Ark. Stem branching, several feet in length, climbing about 

 hedges and thickets in low grounds. Lower leaves entire ; the upper ones be- 

 coming auriculate or hastate. Flowers drooping, on branching peduncles from 

 the side of the stern. Corolla of 5 reflexed segments, purple, with 2 green spots 

 at the base of each segment. Berries bright red, said to b3 poisonous. Jl. 

 Eur. 



6 S. Pseudo-Capsicum L. JERUSALEM CHERRY. Si. shrubby ; Ivs. oblong- 

 lanceolate, subrepand; ped. 1-flowerod, opposite the leaves. J? A small, orna- 

 mental shrub, cultivated. Stem 2 if high, branching into a symmetrical sum- 

 mit. Leaves dark evergreen, smcoth and shining, about 2' long. Flowers white, 

 with orange anthers, drooping, succeeded by a few scarlet, globous berries of the 

 size of small cherries. ) Mauritius, &c. 



7 S. sempervirens Dun. Shrubby, twining and climbing ; branches herba- 

 ceous ; Ivs. entire, lance-ovate or elliptic, obliquely cordate, obtuse, with a blunt cusp, 

 very smooth and shining ; panicles terminal, divaricate, roughish and hairy. 

 Shrubberies, arbors, &c., hardy South. An elegant climber. Branches cinnamon- 

 colored, glandular. Lvs. thick, of a bright, shining green. Cor. plicate, 5 or 6 

 times larger thau tlio calyx, f Gubna. 



37 



