ced ffardene 



SOLANUM 



ft. high, with truilii 



1677 



2335 Solandra erandlflora 



is usually given, that is, if plants are to be grown on as 

 specimens, but the proportion of nutrient substances 

 used in a potting mixture vhould be determined by the 

 vigor of the plants It iv i1h n ^ 1.. tti ? t.. use too little 

 plant-food than too much it t mu li i- used it often 

 becomes available fastei th m il i t^ "t plants can 

 absorb it, and hence cau^. -, n-rmi t ids to form in the 

 soils which are fatal to the rui.ts «1 iiio-t plants. Many 

 amateur plant - growers in then oi er aniiety to grow 

 fine plants make this fatal mistake 



In most gardens the greenhouse space is limited, and 

 a gardener cannot always develop his plants to their 

 fullest capacity or he his to reduce hi^ variety and 

 numbers. For instance, we used to grow fancy pelargo- 

 niums three and four feet in diameter, hut we found we 

 either had to grow smalkr specimens or reduce the va- 

 riety of our collections This, then, determines in the 

 mind of an experienced gardener the composition of his 

 potting mixtures His aim should be to grow the finest 

 possible specimens lu the smallest possible pots and 

 space, and all the cultural details given by the writer 

 in this Cyclopedia have been with this idea in mind. 

 Edward J. Canning. 



SOJA. Consult Soy Bean and Glycine. 



SOLANDRA (after Daniel C. Solander, a Swedish 

 naturalist and traveler, 1736-1786). Solandcew. A ge- 

 nus of about 4 species of woody vines native to tropical 

 America, with simple, entire, shining leaves and large, 

 white, solitary, datura-like iiowers: calyx long-tubular, 

 2-5-cleft ; corolla funnel-shaped; tube cylindrical; 

 throat obliquely and widely bell-shaped; lobes broad, 

 imbricated ; stamens 5, inserted on the corolla-tube : 

 berry globose, pulpy. 



A. Plaiit becoming IZ-SO ft. high. 

 grandifldra, Sw. Pig. 2.135. Lvs. obovate - oblong. 



;.R. 18;: 



B.M. 4:143. -Cult, in ^. Calif. 



Ha. D. Don, has bright yellow fls. with streaks nf pur- 

 ? throat Jiud is longer and more slender than S. ifrwn- 

 lul the lobes are more conspicuously fringed. Slex. 

 531. p. W. Bakclat. 



Solandras are attractive plants and their needs are 

 simple. A warm greenhouse— one in which the tem- 

 perature is never allowed to fall below 50° — will suit 

 them very well in the eastern states. The plants would 

 probably do well outd'MU-s in Florida and the far South. 

 They like plentx- ..f li^ht :,ih1 Miuslii,,,. :,t all seasons of 

 the year. an<l wiii-r vii,,ul.i Im- i,M\-eH freely from early 



growth and bloom duriug that perio.l. lu suinnier. 

 when tlie wood is ripening, a dry state is |.i . Iri :il,ie for 

 them. The soil that gives the most siiti-fart.,iy lesults 



turb the roots of estal.lished plants uhne iTe.iuently 



dras is to obtain slioi-i. sturdy l.raurhes, fur those of 

 rank growth seldom or uiAer iU.\elo|i ilow.rs; for this 

 reason the use of rich soils aud strung fertilizers should 

 be avoided always. Propagated by cuttings of tirm 

 young shoots taken with a heel and placed in slight bot- 

 tom heat. 



SoUindra grandiflora is perhaps the best of the ge- 

 nus. The tiowers do not last more than four or five 

 days. They are of a pretty greenish white color when 

 they first open and turn slowly to a rich brownish yel- 

 low Michael Barker. 



SOLANTTM (Latin, solamen, solace or quieting). 

 Nightshade. Solanum, giving name to the family 

 Solandcew, is a vast genus of temperate and tropical 

 herbs, shrubs and even trees, but is comparatively poorly 

 represented in temperate North America. Dunal, the 

 latest monographer (DC. Prodr. 13, pt. 1), in 1852, rec- 

 ognized 901 species, and many species have been de- 

 scribed since that time. The genus finds its greatest 

 extension in tropical America. Of the vast number of 

 species, barely 25 are of much account horticulturally, 

 and half that number will comprise all the species that 

 are popularly well known. One of these is the Potato. 

 Solanum tuberosum, one of the leading food plants of 

 the human race. The genus seems to abound in plants 

 with toxic properties, although its bad reputation in this 

 respect is probably exaggerated. 



As a genus, Solanum is not easily separated from 

 other genera, but some of its most designative char- 

 acters are as follows: Lvs. alternate: inflorescence 

 mostly sympodial and therefore superaxillary or oppo- 



long as 

 somewhi 

 53:1161. 



fragrant; corolla twi 

 icted at the throat, white 

 1874. G.C. III. 21:272. Gr 



2336. Tuber of Potato— Solanum tuberosum 



site the lvs.: corolla garaopetalous and rotate or shal- 

 low-campanulate, plaited in the bud, the limb angled 

 or shallow-lobed : stamens usually 5. inserted on the 

 throat of the corolla, the anthers narrower or elongated 

 and connivent and mostly opening by an apical pore or 

 slit: ovary usually 2-loculed. ripening into a berry which 

 is sometimes inclosed in the persistent calyx. The fls. 



