LIII. ^OLANA^CEii: : i'OLA^NUM. 663 



I 



Derivation. The French of Upper Louisiana call this tree Bois Shavanon. from its being found in 

 abundance on tlie banks of the river S/iava7ion, now called the Cumberland. Catdlpa is supposed 

 to be a corruption of Catawba, an Indian tribe that formerly occupied a great part of Georgia and 



1 tlie Carolinas. 



\Engravings. Schmidt Baum., 1. 1. 14. ; the plates in Arb. Brit., 1st edit., vol. vii. ; and ouryjg.1289. 



\Spec. Char., S^-c. Leaves cordate, flat, 3 in a whorl, large and deciduous. Branches 



j strong. Panicles large, branchy, terminal. {Don's Mill.) A deciduous tree. 



Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, on the banks of rivers. Height 20 ft. to .30 ft. 



sometimes CO ft. Introduced in 1726. Flowers white, marked with purple and 



yellow ; July and August. Capsules remarkably long, narrow, and horny. 



The catalpa is generally propagated by seeds, which are imported from 



jAmerica ; but it will grow readily from cuttings of the root ; and, of course, 



plants so raised will flower much sooner than those which are raised from seed. 



[Fhe tree is of rapid growth till it attains the height of 20 ft., which, in deep 



ree soil, in the neighbourhood of London, it does in 10 years. 



Order LIII.- 50LANA^CE^. 



Ird. Char. Calyx 5-cleft, persistent. Corolla 3-cleft, usually regular ; aestiva- 

 tion imbricate or plicate. Stamens 5, rarely 4, epipetalous. Sft/le 1. Fruit 

 2 4-celled, capsular or baccate. Albumen fleshy. Regular flowers, arched 

 or spiral embryo, plicate aestivation of corolla, and equal stamens, distinguish 

 this order from its allies. (G. Don.) 



\ Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous or sub-evergreen ; oblong, 

 and sometimes pinnately divided. Floiuers solitary or numerous. Shrubs, 



\ deciduous or sub-evergreen; natives of Europe, Asia, and South America; 



i readily propagated by cuttings in any common soil, not over moist. 



I The few ligneous or sufFruticose hardy plants contained in this order are 

 included in the genera (Jolanurn, Ljcium, and Crabowskiff, which are thus 

 jharacterised : 



;vola'num Pliyiy. Anthers cbnnivent, dehiscing by pores at the anex. Berry 



I 2-celled, rarely 4-celled. 



pY'ciUM L. Anthers usually exserted, and not connivent, opening length- 



! wise. Berry 2-celled. 



iJR.\Bo'AvsKU Schlecht. Drupe containing two 2-celled bony carpels. Cells 



. 1-seeded. 



I Genus I. 



#1 



u 

 iOLA'NUM Tourn. The Nightshade. Lin. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. 



fentyication. Tourn. Inst., p. 149. t. 62. ; Lin. Gen., No. 2.'il. ; Don's Mill., 4. p. 400. 



ynonymes. Melcngina Tourn. Inst. p. 151. t. 65. ; Pseddo-Capsicum Mosnch Meth. p. 476. ; 



; Nycterium Vent. Jard. Malm. p. 85. ; Aquartzo Jacq. Amer. p. 15. t. 12. ; Morelle, Fr. ; Nacht- 



|Schatten, Ger. ; Solano, Ital. 



erivation. The first use of the word Solanum occurs in the writings of Tragus, who applied it to 

 Chenopbdium hybridum. It is said to t)e derived from solari, to console. The Ore. ks called our 



I European solanums struchnoi, a name which Linnseus transferred to the genus of tropical shrubs, 



iStrychnos, to which the nux vomica belongs. 



i'e. Char., Sfc. Calyx permanent, 5-, rarely 4-, cleft. Corolla rotate, rarely 

 carapanulate, 5-, rarely 4-, cleft. Anthers oblong, connivent, opening by 2 

 pores at the apex. Berry almost globose, 2 3 4-celled, but usually 

 2-celled. (Don's Mill.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous or sub-evergreen; undi- 

 vided, sinuated, lobed, imparipinnate, or decompound. Flowers in peduncles, 

 solitary or numerous, simple or multifid, axillary or extra-axillary. Shrubs, 



u u 4 



