SOLAXUM 



SOLANUM 



3183 



AAA. Species grown wholly for ornament or curiosity. 



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



C. Plant without spines, the Ivs. entire or merely undulate 



(except sometimes in No. 13). 



D. Foliage entirely glabrous. 



12. aviculare, Forst. (S. lacinidtum, Ait.). A leafy 

 unarmed soft-wooded glabrous shrub 4-8 ft. high, with 

 spreading branches, smooth or marked with raised lines 



decurrent from the 

 petioles: Ivs. variable 

 in size and shape, 4-12 

 in. long or sometimes 

 even longer, lanceo- 

 late or linear-lanceo- 

 late, entire or irregu- 

 larly pinnatifid and the 

 lobes linear or lanceo- 

 late and acute: fls. in 

 cymose clusters in the 

 axils of the upper Ivs. 

 or lateral; calyx-lobes 

 broad and obtuse, 

 with an abrupt point; 

 corolla violet, %-l in. 

 diam., the lobes short 

 and broad: fr. a broad 

 ovoid edible berry 3 4 -l 

 in. long, yellowish. 

 New Zeal.', also com- 

 mon in many parts of 

 Austral., Tasmania, 

 and in Norfolk Isl. B. 

 M. 349. 



13. glaucum, Dun. 

 (S. glaucophyllum, 

 Desf.). A perennial 

 plant 6 ft. or more high, 

 with round erect sts., 

 suckering abundantly: 

 Ivs. 5-6 in. long, %-l^ 

 in. broad, ovate-lan- 

 ceolate to oblong-lanceolate, entire, narrowed toward 

 the base and decurrent with the petiole, acuminate at 

 the apex, the surface glabrous and somewhat glaucous: 

 fls. in terminal and lateral branched racemes or corymbs; 

 corolla blue, star-shaped, about 1 in. diam., the lobes 

 ovate: berry small, ovoid-globose, yellow. Province 

 of Buenos Aires in Argentina, and in S. Brazil. B.M. 

 7945. 



DD. Foliage more or less pubescent, at least on the lower 

 surface (except in No. 15). 



E. Fls. small, less than %in. diam., white. 



14. Pseudo-capsicum, Linn. JERUSALEM CHERRY. 

 Fig. 3630. A small branching leafy shrub, reaching 

 34 ft., erect and glabrous throughout: Ivs. narrowly 

 lanceolate, oblanceolate, or oblong, entire or the mar- 

 gins slightly wavy, narrowed at the base to a short 

 petiole, mostly obtuse at the apex, the surface bright 

 green and shining, the veins prominent : fls. solitary or 

 few in lateral clusters, small, white : fr. globose, scarlet 

 or rarely yellow, J^-^in. diam. Widely distributed in 

 tropical and semi-tropical regions, naturalized in Fla. 

 Probably a native of the Old World, perhaps Madeira. 

 An old-fashioned plant usually grown as small speci- 

 mens in pots for its showy scarlet frs., which persist for 

 a long time. iVar. nanum, Hort., is a dwarf compact 

 form. Yar. Weatherillii, Hort., Weatherill's hybrid, is a 

 form with strongly veined undulate Ivs. and pointed 

 orange-colored frs. 



15. Hendersonii, Hort. Very like S. Pseudo-capsi- 

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

 or olive-form, orange-red. A horticultural form, per- 

 haps a hybrid. Also known as S. hybridum Hendersonii, 



3630. Solanum Pseudo-capsicum. 



but not related to the plant known in Old- World gar- 

 dens as S. hybridum. 



16. Capsicastrum, Link. Fig. 3631. A small shrub 

 resembling the last but only 1-2 ft. high: st. more or less 

 pubescent, with stellate hairs or glabrate: Ivs. simple, 

 oval, oblong, or sometimes slightly ovate, narrowed 

 toward the petiole, obtuse at the apex, the margins 

 entire or slightly undulate, the upper surface green and 

 somewhat pubescent, the lower more strongly so: fls. 

 small, white : fr. J^in. diam., orange-red or scarlet. Brazil 

 and Uruguay. F.S. 12:1242. G.W. 3:529 Frequent 

 greenhouse and window-plant. Var. Melvinii, Hort., 

 a compact form 12-15 in. high with ovoid berries. Var. 

 variegatum, Hort., has variegated Ivs. 



EE. Fls. usually %in. or more diam., violet or rarely white 

 in No. 22. 



17. Rantonnetii, Carr. (incorrectly spelled S. Rantbn- 

 nei, Rantonni, etc.) (S. muticum, N. E. Br. S. japoni- 

 cum, Hort.). An erect bushy grayish green half -shrub, 

 growing 3-5 ft. high, the st. marked with raised lines 

 decurrent from the petioles: Ivs. entire, lanceolate 

 or ovate-lanceolate, narrowed to the petiole, mostly 

 acute at the apex, glabrous or inconspicuously pubes- 

 cent on the upper surface, pubescent with short hairs 

 below: fls. 2-5, together in the axils, 1 in. or more diam.; 

 calyx-lobes with an abrupt linear point, corolla violet 

 with a light yellow center: the red fr. nearly or quite 1 

 in. diam., heart-shaped, drooping, and very ornamental. 

 Margins of woods in Paraguay and Argentina. Cult._in 

 warm temperate regions of Amer. and Eu. R.H. 1859, 

 p. 135. Gt. 43:1401. An excellent plant for blooming 

 in the open in summer. Easily prop, by means of 

 cuttings. 



18. crispum, Ruiz & Pav. An unarmed shrub, or 

 sometimes attaining the size of a small tree, with rather 

 long green flexuous branches puberulous when young, 

 later becoming glabrous: Ivs. 3-4 in. long, entire, thin, 

 ovate to ovate-lanceolate, subcordate at the base, acute 

 at the apex, smooth above, the margins somewhat 

 undulate and the nerves prominent on lower surface: 

 corymbs many-fld., corolla pale violet, about %in. 

 broad and twice as long as the calyx, the lobes ovate or 

 ovate-lanceolate: fr. globose, pale yellow, about the 

 size of a pea. In Chile from the central provinces to the 

 Island of Chiloe, also in Peru. B.M. 3795. G.C. III. 

 30:424. 



19. Xanti, Gray. A low shrub or at high elevations 

 herbaceous from a woody base, the sts. slender, 1-2 or 

 even 3 ft. high, the younger ones angled, somewhat vil- 

 lous with many-celled usually gland-tipped simple 

 hairs: Ivs. membranous, ovate, ovate-oblong to oblong- 

 lanceolate, ^-1 %in. long, wedge-shaped, rounded or 

 subcordate at the base, entire or lobed: fls. in umbel- 

 like cymes, corolla J^-l in. diam., rotate, angular or 

 short-lobed, violet: fr. erect, berry-like, globose, light 

 green or purplish hi color. 



Throughout Calif., except hi 

 the desert region, ascending to 

 6,500 ft. altitude. B.M. 7821. 



20. Wfillacei, Parish. A 

 shrubby plant often forming 

 round masses and reaching a 

 height of about 3 ft., the sts. 

 densely villous with long many- 

 celled tawny viscid hairs: 

 Ivs. rather thick, usually less 

 densely hairy than the sts., the 

 lower rather large, cordate, the 

 upper ovate, rounded or sub- 

 cordate at the base: fls. hi 

 rather large forked cymes, 

 corolla 1-1 Yi in. diam., pale 



violet: ripe fr. dark purple. 353 1. Solanum Capsicas- 

 Islands off the coast of Calif., trum.(xH) 



