ORDER 94. SOLANACF^E. 57*7 



prickly. Lvs. sometimes twin, pinnatifid or undivided. Ped. solitary 

 or several, 1 to co -flowered, terminal, but becoming lateral by the ex- 

 tension of the axis. 



Unarmed, Anthers ovate-elliptic, pores terminal-introrse (a). 



a Herbaceous, with pinnatifid leaves. Raceme exceeding the leaves No. 1 



a Herbaceous, with undivided leaves. Eaceme shorter than the leaves Nos. 2 4 



a Shrubby, climbing or erect. Berries red Nos. 57 



Armed with sharp spines. Anthers linear-oblong, pores terminal-extrorse (b). 



b Peduncles exceeding the leaves, many-flowered Xos. 8. 9 



b Peduncles shorter than the leaves, few-flowered .Xos. 10. 11 



1 3. tuberosum L. COMMON POTATO. St. herbaceous ; subterranean 

 branches bearing tubers ; Ivs. pinnatifid, segm. unequal, the alternate ones min- 

 ute; cor. 5-angled; pedicels jointed. This valuable plant is a native of the 

 Cordilleras of S. America, where it still grows wild. Although it now consti- 

 tutes so large a portion of the food of civilized man, it was scarcely known until 

 the 17th century, and was not extensively cultivated before the middle of the 

 18th. The varieties of the potato are very numerous, differing in their time of 

 ripening, quality, color, form, size, almost endlessly. 



2 S. nigrum L. BLACK NIGHTSHADE. St. herbaceous, angular, smoothish ; Ivs. 

 ovate, toothed and waved; umbels lateral, drooping. A weed-like plant, with- 

 out beauty and of suspicious aspect, about rubbish, in old fields, N. and \V. 

 States. Stem erect, branching, angular, a foot high. Leaves almost always with 

 the lamina perforated and the margin erose as if gnawed by insects. Ped. gener- 

 ally midway between the leaves. Fls. white, anthers yellow. Berries globous. 

 black. Eeputed poisonous, but is used medicinally. Flowers in summer. 

 Eur. 



3 S. nodiflomm Jacq. St. herbaceous or half-shrubby, branched: branches 

 terete, herbaceous, glabrous ; Ivs. ovate, entire, or subrepand, acute, glabrous ; fls. 

 subumbellate, minute; stalks and caL puberulent. U S. Car. to Fla. and La. 

 Stem 2 to 3f high, with a ridge descending from each petiole. Lvs. 2 to 4' long, 

 half as wide, petioles near 1'. Ped. filiform, 6 to 12'' long, growing from thick- 

 ened nodes a little below the next leaf, bearing several (3 to 8) white fls. Cor. 

 cup-form, 2" broad. FT. not seen. 



4 S. pycndnthum DunaL St. herbaceous, slender, angular-ftrrrowed, hispid; 

 Ivs. ovate-oblong, acuminate, attenuate to a petiole, subrepand, puberulent, pale 

 beneath ; ped. short, filiform, hirsute, 1 to 3-flowered, subopposite to the leaves. 

 Ga. about Savannah (Dunal, apud DC. Sed dubito.) Plant green. Lvs. 1 to 2 

 by 3 to 8", petioles 2 to 5". Fls. nodding, 2 to 3" broad, white? Anthers yel- 

 low. Berry globular. 



5 S. Dulcamara L. BITTERSWEET. WOODY NIGHTSHADE. St. shrubby, flexa- 

 ous ; Ivs. ovate-cordate, upper ones hastate or laciniate : clusters cymous, suboppo- 

 site and terminal A well-known shrubby climber, with blue flowers and red 

 berries, N. Eng. to Ark. Stem branching, several feet in length, climbing about 

 hedges and thickets in low grounds. Lower leaves entire: theuM|^^afie. be- 

 coming auriculate or hastate. Flowers drooping, on brancliiAt. peduncle- <om 

 the side of the stem. Corolla of 5 reflexed segments, purple, with 2 green 



at the base of each segment. Berries bright red, said to be poKc 

 Eur. 



6 S. Pseudo-Capsicum L. JERUSALEM CHERRY. Si. shrubby; lr*. 

 lanceolate, subrepand ped. 1-flowered, opposite the leaves. J? A small, orna- 

 mental shrub, cultivated. Stem 2 4f high, branching into a symmetrical sum- 

 mit Lea^^ljfe^ evergreen, smooth and shining, about 2' loug. Flowers whit^. 

 with orangj^^H^s, drooping, succeeded by a few scarlet, globous berries of the 

 size of small cherries, f Mauritius, &c. 



7 S. sempervirens Dun. Shrubby, twining and climbing .; branches herba- 

 ceous; Ivs. entire, lance-ovate or elliptic, obliquely tordate, obtuse, with a Hunt cu?p. 

 very smooth and shining ; panicles terminal, divaricate, roughish and hairy. 

 Shrubberies, arbors, &c., hardy South. An elegant climber. Branches crnnamon- 

 colored, glandular. Lvs. thick, of a bright, shining green. Cor. plicate, 5 or G 

 times larger than the calyx, f Guiana. 



37 



