448 



SOLANACE/E. V. PHYSALIS. 



entire or lobcd. Flowers lateral or extra-alar, solitary or aggre- 

 gate. Corollas greenish, white, yellow, or blue. 



SECT. I. PHYSALODENDRON (from v<raXie, physalis, winter 

 cherry ; and hvfyov, dendron, a tree ; in allusion to the species 

 being woody.) Shrubby. Flowers aggregate. 



1 P. SOMNI'FERA (Link, enum. hort. berol. 1. p. 180. Nees, 

 in Linnsea, 6. p. 453.) shrubby ; leaves quite entire ; flowers 

 crowded, nearly sessile, sub-verticillate. 1? . G. Native of the 

 East Indies ; and the South of Europe ; in the Grecian Islands, 

 Spain, &c. Corolla yellowish-green. Berry small, red. 



Var. a,Jtexuosa (Nees, in Linnsea, 6. p. 454. in Lin. trans. 

 1 7. p. 66.) stem more flexuous ; leaves pubescent, or pubescently 

 tomentose ; flowers smaller ; segments of the calyx about equal 

 in length to the tube. 1? . G. Native of the East Indies, and 

 the South of Europe. P. flexuosa, Lin. spec. p. 261. Jacq. 

 eclog. 1. t. 23. Roxb. fl, ind. 2. p. 240. Wall. cat. no. 2635. 

 P. Suqunda, Hamilt. herb. P. Alpini, Jacq. eclog. 1. p. 39. 

 Pavetti, Alp. exot. p. 71. t. 70. ? Leaves smoothish or downy, 

 canescent. Stem woolly or downy. 



Var. ft, somnifera (Nees, in Lin. trans. 17. p. 67.) stem less, 

 flexuous ; flowers one half larger ; segments of the calyx some- 

 times shorter than the tube, and sometimes equal in length to it. 

 f? . G. Native of the Grecian Islands, Canaries, Mauritius, 

 and the Cape of Good Hope. P. somnifera, Lin. hort. cliff, p. 

 62. spec. 261. Mill. diet. no. 6. Sibth. et. Smith, fl. grsec. t. 

 233. Cav. icon. 2. p. 2. t. 103. Jacq. eclog. 1. t. 22. Phy- 

 saloides somnifera, Mcench, meth. p. 473. Mor. hist. 3. p. 526. 

 sect. 13. t. 3. f. 20. Tourn. inst. p. 151. 2rpi>x*'e VTVOTI- 

 KOQ, Diosc. mat. lib. 4. cap. 73. P. arborescens, Thunb. prod, 

 p. 37. fl. cap. 1. p. 191. P. tomentosa, Sieb. fl. maur. 2. 

 no. 226. Plant downy. Calyx greenish-yellow, or red. Co- 

 rolla yellowish. 



Somniferous Winter Cherry. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1759, ft. 

 1796. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 



2 P. ARBORE'SCENS (Willd. herb. Lin. spec. p. 261. ? Willd. 

 spec. 1. p. 1020. ?) stem arborescent; leaves repandly toothed; 

 flowers aggregate, pendulous ; corolla 5-parted. Tj . S. Na- 

 tive of Mexico, about Campeachy. Mill. diet. no. 8. t. 206. f. 2. 

 Leaves canescent, tomentose. Corolla tomentose outside, fuscous. 

 This is the species described by Nees, in Linnsea ; but the plant 

 is described by Linnaeus as follows : " Stem fruticose ; leaves 

 ovate, pilose ; flowers solitary or twin ; corollas revolute." 

 The leaves are also said to be dark green above, and woolly be- 

 neath : upper ones twin. Corolla is said to be yellow, marked 

 with brown spots inside, and trie berry round, red, and the calyx 

 becoming dark purple in the fructiferous state. The plant of 

 Nees, and that of Linnanis, are, however, probably the same, 

 notwithstanding the apparent difference in the characters given 

 to it by them. 



Arborescent Winter Cherry. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1700. 

 Shrub 4 to 12 feet. 



SECT. II. EUROSTORHIZA (from e.vpt,>aToe,eurostus, robust; and 

 pia, rhiza, a root ; in reference to the strong roots of the 

 species.) Frutescent or herbaceous, with strong roots, and 

 permanent bases of the stems. Flowers solitary. Alabastra 

 while closed large for the size of the corolla, ventricose. 



3 P. VISCOSA (Lin. hort. cliff, p. 496. spec. p. 261.) herbace- 

 ous, scabrous from bi-trifurcate, short hairs ; root perennial, 

 creeping, scabrous; stem dichotomous ; leaves ovate, or sub- 

 cordate, entire, or toothed ; flowers almost spotless ; segments 

 of calyx unequal, broad, ovate. lj. . H. Native of Brazil ; 

 and of Virginia, and from Pennsylvania to Carolina in North 

 America. Pursh, fl. amer. sept. 1. p. 167. P. Pennsylvania,; 



Lin. spec. 1670. ^ Pursh, 1. c. p. 167. Dill. hort. elth. p. 

 11. t. 10. f. 10. The whole plant is beset with short, 2-3-4- 

 forked bristles, seated on minute tubercles : upper leaves 

 twin, unequal. Corolla yellow, marked with a paler star in 

 the centre. Berry ovate, or turbinate, umbilicate, smooth, vis- 

 cid, orange-coloured, rather acid, and not disagreeable to the 

 taste. 



Var. ft, Jacqulni ; leaves ovate, repandly toothed, often 

 acutish, smaller. 3.H. Native from Pennsylvania to Caro- 

 lina. P. viscosa, Jacq. vind. 2. t. 136. P. Jacquini, Link, 

 enum. 1. p. 180. P. Pennsylvanica, Lin. spec. 1670. Mill, 

 diet. no. 3. P. tomentosa, Walt. fl. carol, p. 99. In P. Penn- 

 sylvanica the stems are said to be procumbent, the flowers twin, 

 and the berries small, red, size of a pea. 



Clammy-berried Winter Cherry. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1699, 

 B. 1726. PI. 1 to 3 feet. 



4 P. LANCEOLA'TA (Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 149. Pursh. 

 fl. 1. p. 157.) plant dwarf, downy; leaves almost sessile, oval- 

 lanceolate, almost entire, green on both surfaces, and rather 

 downy; calyx villous ; stem dichotomous. 2.? H. Na- 

 tive of Lower Carolina. P. Virginiana, Mill. diet. no. 4. t. 

 206. f. 1.? Leaves tapering gradually into the petioles at the 

 base. Corolla sulphur-coloured, with a dark purple bottom. 

 Berry yellow, ex Mill. 



Lancealate-leaved Winter Cherry. PI. 1 to 2 feet. 



5 P. WALTE'RI (Nutt. in journ. acad. nat. sc. phil. 7. p. 112.) 

 perennial, clothed with powdery tomentum, much branched, 

 dichotomous ; leaves twin, broad, ovate, obtuse, on long peti- 

 oles, entire ; peduncles solitary, nutant ; fructiferous calyx 

 smoothish. If.. H. Native of South Carolina. P. lanceolata, 

 Elliott, but not of Michx. Leaves green above. 



Walter's Winter Cherry. PI. 1 foot ? 



6 P. ANGUSTIFOLIA (Nutt. 1. c. p. 113.) perennial, quite gla- 

 brous, prostrate, dwarf; leaves very long, linear, fleshy, solj- 

 tary ; peduncles nutant, filiform. 7^. H. Native of West 

 Florida. Leaves 3 inches long. 



Narrow-leaved Winter Cherry. PI. prostrate. 



7 P. CURASSA'VICA (Lin. hort. cliff, p. 62. spec. 261.) shrubby, 

 clothed with viscid down ; down simple, articulated ; stem 

 erect ; leaves ovate, repand ; flowers solitary, spotless ; calyx 

 hairy, with subulate segments. I/ . S. Native of Curacoa. 

 Mill. diet. no. 5. P. origanifolia, Lam. ill. gen. no. 2398. 

 Mor. hist. 3. p. 527. Plukn. phyt. t. 111. f. 5. Calyx cylin- 

 drically campanulale, not angular, densely hairy. Corolla sinu- 

 ately 5-angled, yellow. Berry greenish-yellow. This species 

 differs from P. viscosa, in the down being simple, not forked, 

 in the calyx being densely hairy and smaller, and in its seg- 

 ments being short and subulate, and in the bottom of the corolla 

 being pale. 



Curacoa Winter Cherry. Fl. June, Sept. Clt. 1699. PI. 

 11 foot. 



8 P. AIKEKE V NGI (Lin. spec. p. 262.) herbaceous, downy from 

 simple hairs ; root perennial, creeping ; stem almost simple ; 

 leaves ovate-deltoid, acuminated, repand ; flowers spotless ; 

 fructiferous calyx ovate, coloured : segments subulate. I/ . H. 

 Native of Europe, on exposed parts of hills ; and of Japan ? 

 Willd. spec. 1. p. 1022. Sibth et Smith, fl. grtec. t. 234. Schkuhr, 

 handb. t. 45. P. Halicacabum, Scop. fl. earn. ed. 2d. no. 286. 

 Alkekengi officinarum, Tourn. inst. p. 151. 2,Tpv%voG dXt/ca- 

 Kafioe, Diosc. lib. 4. chap. 72. Plench, off. t. 124. Blackw. t. 

 161. Corolla dirty white. Calyx reddish yellow, inclosing a 

 scarlet berry. The berries of the Alkekengi, or Winter Cherry, 

 were well known to the ancients, and are described by Dioscori- 

 des. They have an acidulous, and not unpleasant flavour, fol- 

 lowed by a slight bitterness, which they are said to derive from 

 the investing calyx. Though esteemed detergent, and aperient, 

 the fruit is chiefly recommended as a diuretic. From 6 to 12 



