3182 



SOLANUM 



SOLANUM 



ovate, usually confluent with the rachis, obtuse at the 

 apex, Y<Z-\ y<i in. long, the terminal one somewhat larger, 

 the upper lateral pair sometimes more or less adnate 

 with the terminal, interspersed Ifts. very few or none: 

 calyx slightly pubescent, the lobes ovate-acute, about 

 a line long; corolla white or pale violet, rather deeply 

 lobed, pubescent on the outer surface, rather strongly 

 so toward the apex of the lobes. E. Argentina and 

 Uruguay, usually in moist situations. Trans. Hort. Soc., 

 vol. 5: t. 10. Of no value in the improvement of the 

 common potato. See suppl. list, p. 3186. 



AA. Species grown for the edible frs.: Ivs. simple. 



9. nigrum, Linn. BLACK NIGHTSHADE. MORELLA of 



the French. Low unarmed herbaceous annual or suf- 



frutescent in warm climates, glabrous or the young 



parts sometimes sparingly pubescent: Ivs. simple, ovate, 



3629. Two solanums. Pepino, or melon shrub, Solanum muri- 

 catum; and garden huckleberry, S. nigrum var. guineense, at a. 



(Both xy 2 ) 



narrowed at both ends, entire or more frequently 

 sinuate-toothed, petioled: fls. small, white, in pedun- 

 culate lateral cymes; calyx much shorter than the 

 corolla with small obtuse lobes; corolla about }^in. 

 diam.: berry globular, black, about J^in. diam. A 

 widely distributed weed in all temperate and tropical 

 regions. In the Dakotas, according to Hansen, the 

 plant is often called "stubbleberry," as it volunteers 

 freely in wheat-stubble, and the fr. is used there for 

 pies and preserves. Hansen finds that the plants with- 



stand considerable frost. In warm countries, according 

 to Vilmorin, the Ivs. are sometimes eaten as spinach is, 

 "and apparently without any injurious result, although 

 the plant belongs to the dangerous family of the Solana- 

 ceas." The species is extremely variable, and much dif- 

 ference of opinion exists in regard to the poisonous 

 qualities of the berries. Possibly differences exist in 

 this respect in different forms but not correlated with 

 characters recognizable by the systematist. Var. gui- 

 neense, Linn., with scarcely angled to angular smooth 

 st., broadly ovate Ivs. glabrous above and glabrous or 

 sparingly pilose below, deeply lobed calyx and relatively 

 large fr., is the "garden huckleberry" (Fig. 3629). 

 This form is cult, to some extent in some sections and 

 the fr. used for pies and preserves. Another form, S. 

 Burbankii, bitter, with foliage rather dark green above, 

 and erect or ascending peduncles, is stated by the origi- 

 nator to be a hybrid between the "garden huckleberry" 

 and S. villosum of the Pacific coast. In some characters 

 it appears to be intermediate between its supposed 

 parents, and it is used as is the former. 



10. muricatum, Ait. (S. guatsmalense, Hort.). 

 PEPINO. MELON PEAR. MELON SHRUB. Fig. 3629. An 

 erect spineless bushy herb or subshrub 2-3 ft. high, the 

 branches often with rough warty excrescences, and 

 usually glabrous or nearly so: Ivs. entire or with slightly 

 undulate margins, rarely ternate, oblong-lanceolate, or 

 ovate, tapering to the more or less margined petiole and 

 also toward the more or less obtuse or sometimes acute 

 apex, the surface sparingly soft-pubescent: fls. in a 

 long-stalked cluster, rather small, the corolla bright 

 blue, deeply 5-lobed, puberulent on the outer surface, 

 inclined or nodding: fr. ovoid or egg-shaped, long- 

 stalked, drooping, yellow overlaid with splashes of 

 violet-purple, 4-6 in. long when cult., flesh yellow and 

 seedless under cult. Said to be a native of Peru and 

 cult, in other parts of Trop. Amer. at temperate eleva- 

 tions. G.F. 5:173. G.C. III. 3:309. This plant at- 

 tracted some attention in this country about 25 years 

 ago. It appears to have been intro. into the U.S. from 

 Guatemala in 1882 by Gustav Eisen. A full review of 

 the history and botany was made in Cornell Exp. Bull. 

 No. 37 (1891). The fr. is aromatic, tender, and juicy, 

 and in taste suggests an acid eggplant. In a drawer or 

 box, the fr. may be kept till midwinter. In the N. the 

 seasons are too short to allow the fr. to mature in the 

 open, unless the plants are started very early. The 

 pepino is properly a cool-season plant, and when grown 

 in pots in a cool or intermediate house will set its frs. 

 freely. It is readily prop, by means of cuttings of the 

 growing shoots. The plant will withstand a little frost. 



11. Melongena, Linn. (S. insanum, Linn.). Erect 

 and much-branched herb or subshrub, 2-3 ft. tall, 

 woolly or scurfy, spiny: Ivs. large and heavy, ovate or 

 oblong-ovate, becoming nearly glabrous above but 

 remaining densely tomentose beneath, shallowly sinu- 

 ate-lobed: fls. large, mostly in clusters, the calyx woolly 

 and often spiny, the spreading, deeply lobed, purplish 

 corolla 1 in. or more across: fr. a large berry. Afr. and 

 S. Asia. Original habitat probably S. W. Asia. 



Var. esculentum, Nees (S. esculentum and S. ovigerum, 

 Dun.). COMMON EGGPLANT. GUINEA SQUASH. AUBER- 

 GINE. Figs. 1379-1381, 1383, Vol. II. Cult, for its 

 large frs., which are usually oblong, obqvoid, or egg- 

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

 differs from the wild plant in having fewer spines, 

 mostly solitary fls., and much larger and more variable 

 frs. There are 2 well-marked subvarieties : var. ser- 

 pentinum, Bailey. SNAKE EGGPLANT. Fr. greatly elon- 

 gated and curled at the end. Var. depressum, Bailey. 

 DWARF PURPLE EGGPLANT. Fig. 1382. Low and diffuse, 

 many of the branches finally resting on the ground, 

 usually dark-colored, nearly glabrous and always spiny: 

 Ivs. small and relatively thin, less lobed: fls. small and 

 longer -stalked: fr. purple, pyriform. See Eggplant. 



