808 FLORA. 



Family 8. SOLANACEAE Pers. 

 Potato Family. 



Herbs, shrubs, vines, or some tropical species trees, with alternate or 

 rarely opposite estipulate leaves, and perfect regular or nearly regular 

 cymose flowers. Calyx inferior, mostly 5-lobed. Corolla gamopetalous, 

 mostly 5-lobed, the lobes induplicate-valvate or plicate in the bud. 

 Stamens as many as the lobes of the corolla and alternate with them, 

 inserted on the tube, all equal and perfect in the following genera, except 

 in Petunia, where 4 are didynamous and the fifth smaller or obsolete; 

 anthers 2-celled, apically or longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary superior, 

 2-celled (rarely 3-5-celled); ovules numerous on the axile placentae, 

 anatropous or amphitropous ; style slender, simple; stigma terminal; 

 fruit a berry or capsule. Seeds numerous; endosperm fleshy; cotyle- 

 dons semiterete. About 70 genera and 1600 species, most abundant in 

 tropical regions. 



* Fruit a berry ; corolla plicate, its lobes generally induplicate. 

 Anthers unconnected, destitute of terminal pores, dihiscent. 

 Fruiting calyx bladdery-inflated. 



Fruiting calyx 5-angled and deeply s-parted ; ovary 3-5-celled. 



i. Physalodes. 

 Fruiting calyx 5-lobed, not parted, lo-ribbed, often 5-io-angled, reticulated, 



wholly enclosing the berry ; ovary 2-celled. 

 Corolla open-cam panulate, yellow or whitish, often with a dark center; 



seeds with a thin margin, finely pitted. 2. Physalis. 



Corolla flat-rotate, violet or purple; seeds thick, rugose-tuberculate. 



3. Quincula. 

 Fruiting calyx somewhat enlarged, but closely fitted to the fruit, thin, obscurely 



veiny, open at the r .nouth. 

 Corolla rotate, whitish ; lobes of fruiting calyx much exceeding the berry. 



4. Leucophysalis. 



Corolla rotate, whitish, sometimes tinged with purple ; fruiting calyx not ex- 

 ceeding the berry. 5. Chamaesaracha. 



Anthers connivent or slightly connate ; fruiting calyx not enlarged. 



Anthers short or oblong, opening by terminal pores or short slits in our species. 



6. Solanutn. 

 Anthers long, tapering from base to summit, longitudinally dehiscent. 



7. Lycopersicon. 



* * Fruit a nearly dry berry ; corolla campanulate, little or not at all plicate, its lobes 

 imbricated. 8. Lycium. 



* * * Fruit a capsule; corolla funnelform. 

 Capsule circumscissile toward the top, which separates as a lid; corolla irregular. 



9. HyoscyamtiSt 

 Capsule opening by valves. 



Capsule generally prickly. 10. Datura. 



Capsule not prickly. 



Flowers paniculate or racemose; stamens nearly uniform in length. 



ii. Nicotiana. 

 Flowers solitary ; stamens very unequal. 12. Petunia. 



i. PHYSALODES Boehm. [NICANDRA Adans.] 



An annual erect glabrous herb, with alternate petioled thin sinuate-dentate 

 or lobed leaves, and large light blue peduncled nodding flowers, solitary in the 

 axils. Calyx-segments ovate, connivent, cordate or sagittate at the base, strongly 

 reticulated. Corolla broadly campanulate, slightly 5-lobed. Stamens 5, included, 

 inserted on the corolla near its base; filaments filiform, dilated and pilose below; 

 anther-sacs longitudinally dehiscent. Style slender; stigma 3 -5 -lobed. Berry 

 globose, nearly dry, enclosed in the calyx. [Greek, Physalis-like.] A monotypic 

 genus. 



i. Physalodes physalodes (L.) Britton. APPLE-OF-PERU. (I. F. f. 3189.) 

 Stem angled, 6-15 dm. high. Leaves ovate or oblong, acuminate but blunt, nar- 



