NIGHTSHADE FAMILY 



491 



very rapidly. The Dodders are parasitic plants and do much 

 damage in Clover, Alfalfa, and Flax fields, where they twine 

 about the plants and grow their roots into their stems and 

 rob them of their food. 



Nightshade Family (Solonaceae) . This family is the one to 

 which the Irish Potato, Tomato, and Tobacco belong. Some 

 authors give the number of species as about 1700. Both the 

 five sepals and five petals 

 are more or less joined 

 (Fig. 440). The stamens 

 are five and usually inserted 

 on the corolla. The Irish 

 Potato (Solanum tuberosum) 

 is probably the most im- 

 portant plant of this group 

 and Tobacco (Nicotiana 

 Tabacum) next. Some years 

 the potato crop in the 

 United States is more than 

 300,000,000 bushels. New 

 York is the chief potato 

 growing state, although 

 many potatoes are grown in 

 Michigan, Wisconsin, and 

 Pennsylvania. 



The Tomato (Ly coper si- 

 cum esculentum) , when first 



FIG. 442. A portion of the Horse 

 Nettle, showing flowers and fruits and 

 the spiny character of the plant (X|). 

 After Dewey. 



introduced from tropical 

 America as an ornamental 

 plant, was considered poison- 

 ous, but now its fruits are 

 important vegetables. 



In some of the Southern states, as Kentucky, North Caro- 

 lina, and Virginia, Tobacco is one of the leading agricultural 

 products, while in many other states it is grown in considerable 

 quantities. Some other cultivated plants of this family are the 

 Egg Plant, Cayenne Pepper, Petunia, and Belladonna. 



To this family belong a number of weeds, some of which are 

 quite troublesome. The Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrwn) 

 and Jimson Weed (Datura Stramonium) (Fig. 441) are common 



