SOLANUM 



SOLANUM 



3185 



3632. Coarse, bushy herb, 3 ft. tall, scurfy-tomentose, 

 armed with strong hooked spines: Ivs. much like those 

 of the eggplant but the lobes sharper, spiny on the mid- 

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

 1-2 in. across, mostly flattened on the ends but some- 

 times nearly globular in outline, prominently lobed, 

 bright scarlet or yellow. Probably African. An old- 

 time garden plant, but little grown. Annual. 



29. marginatum, Linn. f. A shrub 3-4 ft. high: st. 

 terete, covered with white stellate tomentum: spines 

 subulate, those on the upper part %-%in. long, on 

 older parts 1 in. long: Ivs. ovate, pinnately lobed less 

 than half-way to the midrib or the upper ones undu- 

 lately lobed, subcordate at the base, coriaceous, 3-7 in. 

 long, 2-5 in. wide, covered with fine white stellate pubes- 

 cence which in age disappears from the upper surface 

 except near the margin, remaining silvery white 

 beneath; spines on the principal veins often 1 in. long: 

 cymes extra-axillary, subumbellate ; pedicels covered 

 with white stellate tomentum; calyx spiny, the lobes 

 narrow and acute, corolla broadly campanulate, 1 J^ in. 

 diam., white with the center and midrib bluish: fr. 

 globose, \Yi in. diam., spiny, shining yellow and droop- 

 ing. Nile Land, Abyssinia. Naturalized to a slight 

 extent at Montecito near Santa Barbara, Calif. B.M. 

 1928. 



FF. Fls. blue or violet. 

 G. Size of Ivs. large, 10-15 in. long. 



30. macranthum, Dun. (S. maroniense, Poit). A 

 shrub 6 ft. or more high, with yellowish brown straight 

 prickles: Ivs. 10-15 in. long, narrowed at the base to 

 short winged petioles or sometimes subcordate, ovate, 

 lanceolate or lanceolate-elliptic, sinuate-angled or 

 lobed, pale on the lower surface with stellate pubes- 

 cence, dense on the younger Ivs.: fls. in simple or 

 branched racemes 3-5 in. long and 7-12-fld.; corolla 

 bluish violet, 1^-2J^ in. diam., the lobes acute. Brazil. 

 B.M. 4138. 



31. macrophyllum, Hort. An erect more or less stel- 

 late pubescent plant with curved spines: Ivs. large, a 

 foot or more long, unequal at the subcordate base, sinu- 

 ate-lobed, the lobes oblong-lanceolate, acute, repand- 

 undulate, petioles about 1 in. long, decurrent with the 

 St.: infl. racemose; calyx-lobes with a long attenuate 

 point; corolla large, blue, marked with yellow in the 

 center: berry globose, yellowish, about %n. diam. 

 Mex. G. 2:283. 



GG. Size of Ivs. smaller, 5-7 in. long. 



32. Tdrreyi, Gray. Strong perennial herb, with close 

 grayish stellate pubescence, prickles small and few 

 along the st. and midribs of the Ivs. or sometimes nearly 

 wanting: Ivs. 4-6 in. long, ovate with truncate or 

 slightly cordate base, sinuately 5-7-lobed, the lobes 

 entire or undulate, obtuse, unarmed: infl. at first 

 terminal, cymose, 2-3-fld.; lobes of the calyx short- 

 ovate with an acuminate point; corolla lJ^-2 in. diam., 

 pale blue, the lobes broadly ovate: fr. globose, smooth, 1 

 in. diam., pale yellow at maturity. Kans. to S. Texas. 

 B.M. 6461. It survives the winters at Cambridge, 

 Mass., and spreads by running underground shoots. 



33. pyracanthum, Jacq. An erect spiny plant with 

 woody st. 3 ft. tall: Ivs. 5-6 in. long, short-petioled, 

 oblong, acute, deeply lobed and the lobes oblong, 

 entire, obtuse, tomentose, spiny along the midvein: fls. 

 numerous, in lateral racemes sometimes 6 in. long; 

 corolla blue: fr. globose, glabrous, nearly %in. diam. 

 Probably Afr. Hort. Schoenb. 4:36. t. 470. 



34. indicum, Linn. A much-branched prickly under- 

 shrub sometimes reaching a height of 8 ft., densely 

 clothed when young with stellate tomentum, the 

 prickles compressed, stout, and sometimes recurved: 

 Ivs. ovate, sinuate or lobed, 3-6 in. long and 1-4 in. 

 broad, stellate woolly beneath and prickly along the 



nerves: racemes lateral, many-fld.; fls. blue, calyx- 

 lobes in fl. triangular, acute, very woolly, unarmed, or 

 with slender straight spines, these becoming stronger in 

 fr., corolla %-l in. diam., lobes broadly triangular, 

 tomentose without, less so within : berry yellow or scar- 

 let, glabrous, about J^in. diam. Very common in Trop. 



3633. Solanum Wendlandii. (Much reduced.) 



India and China, Malaya, and the Philippines. Doubt- 

 fully in the American trade. 



BB. Habit of plant climbing, more or less woody, spineless 



(except No. 38). 

 c. Foliage entirely glabrous. 



35. jasminoides, Paxt. POTATO VINE (from the fls.). 

 Fine greenhouse twining shrub, reaching several feet in 

 height, glabrous: Ivs. rather small, the upper ones 

 lanceolate to lance-ovate and entire, the lower ones of 

 about 3 narrow, ovate entire Ifts.: racemes short and 

 united into a cluster 3 in. or less long and about 8-12- 

 fld.; fls. about 1 in. across, star-shaped, white with 

 tinge of blue; pretty. S. Amer. P.M. 8:5. B.R. 33:33. 

 Gn. 43, p. 433; 45, p. 162; 50, p. 19; 51, p. 358; 53, p. 28. 

 A most useful deciduous climber for the coolhouse, 

 and much grown. Half-hardy, and useful for the open 

 in the S. Will grow 10-20 ft. if given a chance. Var. 

 grandifl&rum, Hort., has very large trusses of fls. and is 

 a robust grower; excellent. Gng. 1:259. Var. variega- 

 tum, Hort., has variegated foliage. 



36. Seaforthianum, Andr. (S. azureum, Hort., not 

 Fern. S. venustum, Kunth). Beautiful slender unarmed 

 herbaceous or slightly woody climber or trailer, with st. 

 3-4 ft. long, glabrous throughout: Ivs. with 3 Ifts., these 

 \y<z-1 in. long, or the upper ones simple, lanceolate, or 

 ovate-lanceolate with entire or undulate margins: fls. 

 numerous, in long drooping axillary panicles, on pedi- 

 cels swollen at the apex, the corolla light purple or blue, 

 star-shaped and usually 1 in. or less diam. : fr. ovoid or 

 nearly globose, glabrous, scarlet. Brazil. B.M. 1982; 

 5823. B.R. 969. R.H. 1893, p. 177; 1897:424. A 

 very beautiful plant for the coolhouse. Begins to bloom 

 when very young. Var. album, Hort., a variety with 

 white fls. recently intro. 



37. Wendlandii, Hook, f . (S. Wendlandii magnificum, 

 Hort.). Fig. 3633. Tall-climbing, glabrous, with a few 

 scattered prickles: Ivs. various, sometimes 10 in. long, 

 the uppermost simple and oblong-acuminate, the others 

 lobed or trifoliolate and with the terminal 1ft. much the 

 largest, all with entire margins: fls. in large cymes, pale 

 lilac-blue, the corolla 2^ in. across and shaflow-lobed: 

 fr. globose. Costa Rica. B.M, 6914. G.C. III. 14:339. 



