POTATO FAMILY. 139 



three inches long. The flowers, blooming in April, are 

 pale yellow and tubular, with the style protruding beyond 

 the stamens. 



POTATO FAMILY Solanaceae. 



BITTERSWEET, Solanum Dulcamara, L., other common 

 names of which are, Woody Nightshade, Bittersweet- 

 nightshade, and Scarlet Berry, is a poisonous plant con- 

 taining solanin and dulcamarin, the latter of which gives 

 the berries their peculiar taste, sweetish at first, but later 

 bitter. Solanidin and solanein are also present. The 

 berries and leaves are poison, but only mildly so, consider- 

 able quantities being required to produce the character- 

 istic narcotic effects. 



It is a straggling or climbing perennial, with peculiar, 

 irregular, halberd-shaped leaves and cymose clusters of 

 purple flowers shaped somewhat like those of the potato, 

 with prominent yellow stamens. The berries are round 

 or slightly oval, and of an attractive, bright red colour. 

 The plant grows from the Atlantic to Ontario and south- 

 ward, and is quite readily recognized by its peculiarly 

 shaped leaves. 



THE COMMON NIGHTSHADE, Solanum nigrum L., also 

 known as Black, Deadly, or Garden Nightshade, contains 

 solanin and solanidin. The berries are used as food to 

 some extent, but should be eaten with caution. They are 

 probably more poisonous when not completely ripe. Some 

 plants contain more poison than others, the amount vary- 

 ing with varying conditions of climate and soil. In cases 

 of poisoning reported to have been caused both by berries 

 and by leaves, the symptoms are staggering, lo^s of feel- 



