A SYNOPSIS OF THE PLANT KINGDOM 



71 



sists of the dried twigs of Fabiana imbricata of Chile. 

 European bittersweet (S. Dulcamara) has been used 

 as medicine; it is poisonous. Black nightshade (S. 

 nigrum) and others are poisonous. Tobacco is the dried 

 leaves of Nicotiana Tabacum. Winter cherry (Physalis 

 Alkekengii) is diuretic. Chilli is a name for the fruits of 

 Capsicum annuum of South America. Cayenne pepper 

 is the fruit of various species of Capsicum. Tomato, or 

 love apple, is the fruit of Lycopersicum esculentum 

 ( = Solatium Lycopersicum) . Species of nightshade, when 

 cooked, are eaten as greens. Eggplant is the fruit of 

 S. Melongena of Asia. Potatoes are the tubers of S. 

 tuberosum of Peru and Chile. 



About 30 genera are cultivated in North America as 

 ornamental plants or for food. Among these are: Atropa 

 (Belladonna); Capsicum (Rod or Cayenne Pepper); 

 Cestrum; Cyphomandra (Tree Tomato); Datura 

 (Angel's Trumpet, Datura); Hyoscyamus (Henbane); 

 Lycium (Matrimony Vine, Box Thorn); Lycopersicum 

 (Tomato), [Engler and Prantl unite this with Solanum] ; 

 Mandragora (Mandrake of history); Nicotiana (Nico- 

 tina, Tobacco); Nicandra (Apple of Peru); Nierem- 

 bergia (Cup-flower, White Cup); Petunia; Physalis 

 (Ground Cherry, Strawberry Tomato, Alkekengi, Blad- 

 der Cherry, Cape Gooseberry, Chinese Lantern Plant) ; 

 Salpiglossis; Schizanthus (Butterfly Flower, Poor man's 

 Orchid); Streptosolen ; Solandra; and Solanum (Night- 

 shade, Potato, Pepino, Melon Pear, Melon Shrub, 

 Eggplant, Guinea Squash, Aubergine, Jerusalem 

 Cherry, Potato Vine, Bittersweet). 



198. Scrophulariaceae (from the genus Scrophularia, a 

 reputed remedy for scrofula). FIGWORT FAMILY. Fig. 52. 

 Herbs, shrubs, or small trees: leaves alternate, opposite 

 or whorled: flowers bisexual, regular or commonly 

 irregular, often bilabiate, in which case the throat is 

 often closed by a palate; calyx 5-cleft; corolla 5-lobed, 

 gamqpetalous, hypogynous, rarely spurred at the base, 

 imbricated; fertile stamens rarely 5, usually 4 and 

 didynamous, rarely 2; sterile often present as staminq- 

 dia; epipetalous; hypogynous disk annular or uni- 

 lateral; ovary superior, 2-celled; ovules many; style 1; 

 stigmas 1-2: fruit generally a capsule, rarely a berry. 



Scrophulariacea; is a family of 179 genera and about 

 2,500 species, distributed very generally over the whole 

 earth. A few are aquatic and have finely divided 

 leaves. Some are half-parasites on the roots of other 

 plants. A few are total parasites without chlorophyll. 

 The largest genera are Verbascum containing 160 

 species, Calceolaria with 134 species, Veronica with 

 200 species, and Pedicularis with 250 species. The 

 family is related to the Solanacesc, to the Orobanchaceae 

 and Gesneriacex. The non-plicate imbricated usually 

 irregular corolla, reduced number of stamens, and 

 2-celled, many-ovuled ovary, are distinctive characters. 



The economic uses of the Scrophulariacea; are 

 medicinal and ornamental. Veronica officinalis has 

 been used as a tonic and an astringent. Veronica 

 Beccabunga has been used for scurvy. Scrophularia 

 nodosa was a remedy for fevers. Antirrhinum was 

 used as a diuretic. Euphrasia officinalis was used in 

 ophthalmia, and hence the name "eye-bright." 

 (Iratiola officinalis (poor man's herb) is a violent 

 purgative. Digitalis purpurea is the most valuable 

 medicinal plant in the family. It is poisonous, and a 

 well-known diuretic and sedative-narcotic. The trop- 

 ical Sco/mria dulcis is a febrifuge. Veronica virginica 

 (Culver's root), Verbascum Thapsus, Linaria vulr 

 garia, and Chelone glabra have also been used in med- 

 icine. The snapdragon and foxglove are well-known 

 garden plants of this family. 



Because of the showy flowers, 30 to 40 genera are 

 in cultivation in N. America for ornamental purposes. 

 Among these are: Antirrhinum (Snapdragon), garden 

 and greenhouse; Calceolaria, greenhouse plants, 

 mostly from South America; Castilleia (Painted Cup), 

 garden plants; Chelone (Turtlehead), hardy garden 



plants; Collinsia, garden annuals; Digitalis (Foxglove), 

 hardy garden plants; Erinus, hardy; Gerardia, 

 hardy; Gratiola, hardy; Halleria (African Honey- 

 suckle), cultivated in the southern borders; Linaria 

 (Butter-and-Eggs, Kenilworth Ivy, Mother-of-Thou- 

 sands, Toad-flax), hardy and greenhouse; Mimulus 

 (Monkey Flower, Musk Plant), garden annuals or hardy; 

 Paulownia, semi-hardy tree; Pedicularis (Lousewort, 

 Wood Betony), hardy; Pentstemon (Beard Tongue, 

 Pentstemon), hardy; Phygelius (Cape Fuchsia), mostly 

 greenhouse; Rhodochiton (Purple Bells), vine, garden 

 annual; Russelia, greenhouse; Scrophularia (Figwort), 

 hardy; Tetranema (Mexican Foxglove), greenhouse; 

 Torenia, garden; Verbascum (Mullein), hardy; Veronica 

 (Speedwell, Culver's Root, Fluellen, Ground Hele, 

 Angel's Eyes, Bird's Eyes), garden, mostly hardy 

 or annual. 



199. Bignoniaceae (from the genus Bignonia, named 

 for the Abbe Jean Paul Bignon, court librarian at Paris, 



52. SOLANACE.E: 1. Solanum, a, flower; b, floral diagram. 2. 

 Nicotiana, flower. SCROPHULARIACEA: 3. Verbascum, flower. 4. 

 Antirrhinum, a, flower; b, floral diagram. 5. Scrophularia, flower. 

 BIGNONIACE.E: 6. Campsis, a, flower; 6, floral diagram; c, fruit and 

 seeds. PEDAUACE.E: 7. Sesamum, floral diagram. 



and a friend of the botanist Tournefort). BIGNONIA 

 FAMILY. Fig. 52. Woody plants, rarely herbs, usually 

 climbing or twining in the tropical forests : leaves oppo- 

 site, rarely alternate, usually compound : flowers bisexual, 

 more or less irregular, scarcely bilabiate; calyx 5-cleft, 

 rarely bilabiate or snathe-like, sometimes with appen- 

 dages; corolla 5-lobed, gamopetalous, hypogynous, 

 imbricated; stamens 4, didynamous, or only 2, the 

 others staminodial, epipetalous; anthers various; hy- 

 pogynous disk present; ovary superior, 2-celled, rarely 

 1-celled; many-ovuled; style 1; stigmas 2: fruit a woody 

 capsule; seeds usually winged and very compressed; 

 endosperm 0. 



The family contains 100 genera and from 500-600 

 species, principally natives of the tropics; these are 

 most abundant in America. Three species reach the 

 northeastern United States, from New Jersey and 

 Ohio southward. The largest genus is Tabebuia with 



