CAPSICUM. XCIX. SOLANACE^E. 447 



fields. It is a large, coarse herb, 2 5i' high, very branching. Leaves large, 

 oblong, decurrent. Corolla slightly lobed, pale blue, white and with 5 blue spots 

 in the centre. July Sept. 



6. PHYSALIS. 



Gr. <j>vffis , a bladder ; the inflated calyx enclosing the fruit 



Calyx 5-cleft, persistent, at length ventricose ; corolla caaapanu- 

 late-rotate, tube very short, limb obscurely 5-lobed ; stamens 5, con- 

 nivent ; berry globose, enclosed within the inflated, 5-angled, colored 

 calyx. Herbs, rarely shrubs, with axillary or supra-axillary flowers. 



1. P. VISCOSA. Aikin. (P. viscosa, obscura, pubescens, Pennsylvanica and 

 Philadelphica, of authors.') Yellow Henbane. Ground Cherry. Pubescent; 



st. decumbent, herbaceous ; branches somewhat dichotomous and angular ; Ivs. 

 solitary or in pairs, ovate, more or less cordate, repand-toothed or entire ; Jls. 

 solitary, axillary, pendulous. Dry fields, roadsides, &c. Stem more or less 

 decumbent, about a foot high, often viscid as well as the whole plant. Leaves 

 very variable in the same plant, 1 4' long, of , f , or even of equal breadth, 

 acute, acuminate, or often obtuse at the apex, often abrupt at base, sometimes 

 nearly or quite entire on the margin, twice as long as the petioles ; when in 

 pairs one of them is much smaller. Corolla twice as long as the calyx, green- 

 ish-yellow, with 5 brownish spots at base inside. Fruit yellow or orange-colored, 

 not unpleasant to the taste, enclosed in the enlarged, inflated, angular calyx. Jl. 

 o. Lvs. somewhat viscid, oval, subcordate, geminate. 



0. (P. Pennsylvanica. Linn.) Lvs. ovate and lance-ovate, subentire, nearly 

 smooth, geminate. 



y. (P. obscura. Michx.} Lvs. pubescent, broad-ovate, subcordate, subsolitary. 



Obs. Many other varieties have been noticed as species, but having examined specimens in numerous 

 localities, I am but confirmed in concurring with Dr. Aikin in the above view. 



2. P. LAXCEOLATA. Michx. Lance-leaved Physalis. 



St. herbaceous, dichotomously branched, densely pubescent ; Ivs. mostly 

 in pairs, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, entire, unequal at base ; fls. solitary, nod- 

 ding; cal. villose. % Penn., Western States, S. to Ga. 'Stem 1 2f high. 

 Leaves 3 6' by 1J 3', often very unequal at base. Flowers nodding.. Calyx 

 half-cleft, with lanceolate, acuminate segments. Corolla pale greenish-yellow, 

 with dark spots at base. JL- Darl. Fl. Cest, p. 139. I strongly suspect this to 

 be only another variety of the preceding. 



P. ALKEKENGI. Winter Cherry. St. somewhat branching below ; Ivs. in pairs, 

 entire, acute ; cal. of the fruit red or reddish. Native of S. Europe, cultivated 

 for ornament. Plant about a foot high. Flowers white. Berries acid and 

 somewhat bitter, f 



7. CAPSICUM. Tourn. 

 Gr. Ka;rr&), to bite ; from the acridity of the fruit. 



Calyx erect, 5-cleft, persistent ; cor. rotate, tube very short, limb 

 plaited, 5-lobed ; anth. connivent ; fr. capsular-, dry, inflated, 2 3- 

 celled ; seeds flat, very acrid. A large genus of herbaceous or shrubby 

 plants, pervaded by a heating, acrid principle. Lvs. often in pairs. 

 Ped. axillary, solitary. 



1. C. ANNUUM. Red Pepper. Cayenne Pepper. St. herbaceous, angular, 

 branching above; Ivs. ovate, acuminate, entire, petiolate, glabrous ; ^.smooth, 

 axillary ; cal. angular, with short, acute lobes ; cor. lobes spreading, longer than 

 the stamens; berry oblong or subglobose, red. (J) India. Cultivated for its 

 truit, whose stimulant properties are well known. There are in gardens seve- 

 ral varieties in respect to the fruit, o. The long, or Cayenne, /?. the depressed- 

 globose or squash pepper, best for pickling, y. the cherry pepper, used for pep 

 per-sauce and in seasoning meat, & the sweet Spanish pepper, used as a salad. 

 Sown in March in hot-beds, transplanted in May. Kenrick, Am. Orch., p. 374. * 



38 



