332 SOLANACEAE. 



Family 9. SOLANACEAE Pers. 



Potato Family. 



Herbs, shrubs, vines, or some tropical species trees, with alternate or 

 rarely opposite estipulate leaves, and perfect regular or nearly regular 

 cymose flowers. Calyx inferior, mostly 5-lobed. Corolla gamopetalous, 

 mostly 5-lobed, the lobes induplicate-valvate or plicate in the bud. Stamens 

 as many as the lobes of the corolla and alternate with them, inserted on the 

 tube, all equal and perfect in the following genera, except in Petunia, 

 where 4 are didynamous and the fifth smaller or obsolete; anthers 2-celled, 

 apically or longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary superior, 2-celled (rarely 3-5- 

 celled) ; ovules numerous on the axile i^lacentae, anatropous or amphit- 

 ropous; style slender, simple; stigma terminal; fruit a berry or capsule. 

 Seeds numerous; endosperm fleshy; cotyledons semiterete. About 75 

 genera and 1750 species, most abundant in tropical regions including 

 many plants whose products are useful as foods and drugs, and also many 

 cultivated for ornament. 



A. Fruit a berry, 

 a. Corolla plicate, its lobes mostly induplicate. 



Berry enclosed by the inflated accrescent calyx. 



Ovary 3-5-celled ; sepals nearly separate. 1. Physalodes. 



Ovary 2-celled ; sepals united to near their tips. 2. Physalis. 

 Berry subtended by the calyx. 



Anthers opening by terminal pores. 3. Solanum. 



Anthers opening lengthwise. 4. Lycopersicon. 



b. Corolla not plicate, its lobes valvate or imbricate 5. Capsicum. 



B. Fruit a capsule. 



Capsule narrowly oblong, indehiscent. 6. Brugmansia. 



Capsule globose to ovoid, dehiscent. 



Flowers solitary, axillary ; corolla funnelform ; capsule mostly 



spiny. 7. Datura. 



Flowers panicled or racemose ; corolla mostly salverform ; 



capsule unarmed. 8. Nicotiana. 



1. PHYSALODES Boehm. 



An annual erect glabrous herb, with alternate petioled thin sinuate- 

 dentate or lobed leaves, and large light blue peduncled nodding flowers, soli- 

 tary IB. the axils. Calyx-segments ovate, connivent, cordate or sagittate at 

 the base, strongly reticulated. Corolla broadly campanulate, slightly 5-lobed. 

 Stamens 5, included, inserted on the corolla near its base; filaments filiform, 

 dilated and pilose below; anther-sacs longitudinally dehiscent. Style slender; 

 stigma 3-5-lobed. Berry globose, nearly dry, enclosed m the calyx. [Greek, 

 Physalis-like.] 



A monotypic genus. 



