SOLAN UM 



SOLANUM 



1679 



States from Guatemala in 1882 by Chistav Eisen. A full 

 review of the history and botany was made in Cornell 

 Exp. Bull. 37 (1891). The fruit is aromatic, tender and 

 juicy, and in taste suggests an acid eggplant. In a 

 drawer or box, the fruit may bo kept till midwinter. In 

 the North the seasons are too short to allow the fruit to 

 mature in the open, unless the plants are started very 

 early. The Fepino is properly a cool-season plant, and 

 when grown in pots in a cool or intermediate house will 

 set its fruits freely. It is readily propagated by means 

 of cuttings of the growing shoots. The plant will with- 

 stand a little frost. 



G. Melong^na, Linn. {S. insdxiun, Linn.). Erect and 

 much-branched herb or sul)slirub, 2-;{ ft. tall, woolly or 

 scurfy, spiny: Ivs. large and heavy, ovate or oblong- 

 ovate, becoming nearly glabrous above but remaining 

 densely tomentose beneath, shallowly sinuate-lobed: 

 fls. large, mostly in clusters, the calyx woolly and often 

 spiny, the spreading, deeply lobed, purplish corolla 1 in. 

 or more across : i'r. a large berry. India. 



Var. esculentum, Nees [S. escnUntnm and S. ovigerum, 

 Dun.). Common Eggplant. Guinea Squash. Auber- 

 gine. Figs. 750-753, 830, Vol. II. Cultivated for its 

 large fruits, which are iisually oblong, obo\oid or egg- 

 shape in form, and purple, white, yellowish oi striped: 

 differs from the wild plant in having fewer spines, 

 mostly solitary fls., and much 

 larger and more variable fruits. 

 There are two well-marked sul)- 

 varieties: var. serpentinum, 

 Bailey {S. serpenthium,Dest.). 

 Snake Eggplant. Fr. greatly 

 elongated and curled at the end. 



Var.depressum,Bailey.DwARP 

 Purple Eggplant. Fig. 754. 

 Plant low and diffuse, many of 

 the branches tinally resting on 

 the ground, usually dark-col- 

 ored, nearly glabrous and al- 

 ways spiny: Ivs. small and rela- 

 tively thin, less lobed : fls. 

 small and longer-stalked : fr. 

 purple, pyriform. See JEgg- 

 plant. 



AAA. Species groicn wholly for 

 ornament or curiosity . 

 B. For the fruit alone. 



7. integriJdlium, Poir. (S. 

 Texdnum, Dunal. S. coccin- 

 etim, Hort. ). Chinese Scarlet 

 Eggplant. Ornamental Egg- 

 plant. Ethiopian Eggplant. 

 Fig. 2338. Coarse, bushy herb, 

 3 ft. tall, scurf y - tomentose, 

 armed with strong hooked 

 spines: Ivs. much like those of 

 the (eggplant but the lobes 

 sharper, spiny on the midrib 



and petiole: fls. small, white, in clusters of 2-6: fr. 1-2 

 in. across, mostly flattened on the ends but sometimes 

 nearly globular in outline, prominently lobed, bright 

 scarlet or yellow. Probably African.— An old-time gar- 

 den plant, but little grown. Annual. 



BB. For foliage or flowers (JYos. 8 to 11 also for fruit). 



c. Habit erect, the plant either herbaceous or woody. 



D. Plant without spines, mostly ivith rather narrow Ivs. 



E. Lvs. entire or very nearly so. 



8. PseMo-Cdpsicum, Linn. Jerusalem Cherry. Figs. 

 2339, 2340. Small shrub, reaching 3-4 ft., but usually 

 grown as smaller specimens in pots, glabrous, erect: 

 lvs. lance-oblong to oblanceolate, mostly obtuse, entire 

 or somewhat wavy, shining green, strongly penniveined: 

 fls. few or solitary in lateral clusters, small, white, the 

 corolla 5-parted: fr. globular, K-M in. in diam., scarlet 

 or yellow. Tropics, probably native to Old World.— An 

 old-fashioned plant, often seen in window -gardens, 

 grown for its showy berry-like fruits, which persist a 

 long time. Var. n^num, Hort., is a dwarf, compact 

 form. Var. We^therilli, Hort., Weatherill's Hybrid, is 



a form with strongly veined undulate lvs. and pointed 

 orange-colored fruits. 



9. Capsicistrum, Link. Fig. 2341. Resembles the last, 

 but the plant attains only about half the size : lvs. much 

 shorter, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, scarcely 

 undulate, subopposite and one smaller than the other: 

 fls. white, in short racemes: fr. Y^ in. or less in diam.. 

 orange-red or scarlet. Brazil. F.S. 12: 1242. -Frequent 

 greenhouse and window plant. Var. variegMum, Hort., 

 has variegated lvs. 



10. H6ndersoni, Hort. YevjlWQ S. Pseudo-Capsicum, 

 but the white fls. very numerous, and the fr. ovoid or 

 olive-form, orange-red. A horticultui-al form, perhaps 

 a hybrid. Also known as iS. hybridum Hendersoni. 



11. Jlantonn6tii, Carr. (Vari- 

 ously spelled S. liantonnei, Ran- 

 tonetii, Rantouni, etc.) Erect, 

 bushy plant, growing 3-5 ft. tall, 

 glabrous: lvs. lance-ovate, en- 

 tire, alternate : fls. large, violet- 

 blue, 2-5 together in the axils: 

 fr. 1 in. or less in 

 diam., red, very orn- 

 amental, drooping. 

 Paraguay and Argen- 

 tina. R.H. 1859, p. 



2338. Solanum integrifolium (X^e). 

 A species grown for its ornamental fruit. 



135.— iJ. miiticum, N. E. Br., is probably the same. Gt. 

 43:1401. An excellent plant for blooming in the open in 

 summer. Easily prop, by means of cuttings. 



12. umhelliferum, Eschsch. Perennial, shrubby at the 

 base, hoary-pubescent or sometimes almost glabrous: 

 lvs. obovate-oblong, varying from obtuse to acute: fls. 

 violet-blue (or sometimes white), in umbel-like clusters, 

 % in. across, showy and fragrant. Calif. Variable. — jS. 

 umbellatum, recently offered, is very likely this species. 



ee. Lvs. prominently lobed. 



13. avicul^re, Forst. (S. lacinidtum, Ait.). Strong, 

 erect herb or subshrub, 4-6 ft., glabrous: lvs. large, 

 pinnatifid into long nearly linear or lanceolate acute 

 lobes: fls. blue, 1 in. or less across, the corolla promi- 

 nently lobed, showy: fr. oval or globular, varying from 

 green to orange-red, about %-l in. in diam. (said to be 

 eaten in New Zealand). Australia and New Zealand. 

 B.M. 349. 

 DD. Plant more or less spiny: grown for the mass effect. 



E. Flotvers mainly blue. 



14. Indicum, Linn. Strong shrub, sometimes taller 

 than a man, with many stout often recurved prickles, 



lOG 



