R N. Salaman 37 



SOLANUM ETUBBROSUM. 



The plant with which I have worked is identical with that used by 

 Mr Sutton (8) and described and figured so fully by him. I obtained 

 my tubers from Kew, whence it was sent to me with the name of 

 "Maglia," though the misnomer was realized later. Mr Sutton has 

 been good enough to see my plants growing, and has no hesitation in 

 confirming that they are the same as his own obtained from Mr Lindsay 

 of Edinburgh Botanical Gardens and which he has described under the 

 name of " etuberosum." The Rev. Aikmau Paton's supply of etuberosum 

 was derived from mine, and his results, as far as they are published, 

 confirm mine in many particulars. 



It is not necessary to decide as to whether this plant is the one 

 originally described by Lindley in 1834 as etvberosum ; the general 

 feeling is that it is not the same, but that it is a plant of the greatest 

 interest is none the less true though its name be a borrowed one. 



The contention of Sutton (s) that S. etuberosum is the parent plant 

 of our domestic varieties has been considered by me in an earlier 

 paper(9). Wittmack(i2) has also discussed this question, and though 

 I do not share his opinion that etuberosum is an ordinary S. tuberosum, 

 variety I, nevertheless, agree with hi m that there is no reason to regard 

 it as the parent type of our domestic varieties. 



The etuberosum plant is a low growing one with very light green 

 leaves which are of a different tone to any other I have had growing in 

 my garden. It rather suggests the dusty appearance of the olive. The 

 haulm spreads at its lower end, sending out lateral branches parallel to 

 the ground. 



The average size of the leaf is 2 J inches by 1 inch ; the surface is 

 soft and rather woolly ; the veins are marked, but the leaf not curled or 

 rugose. Compared with most domestic varieties the nodes of the stem 

 would be considered short, but they are, in proportion to the rather 

 dwarf-like habits of the variety, about normal in length. 



Pigment in the stem is red, patchy, extending feebly into the 

 petioles, and visible in the axils. The flowers occur in close clusters, 

 and are of an extremely beautiful lilac, which, viewed from above, has a 

 peculiarly soft appearance. This is due to the fact that the pigment is 

 on the under surface of the petal, that is outside when the flower is 

 closed. This lilac colour differs considerably from the heliotrope seen 

 commonly in domestic varieties. The anthers are delicate and form 



