88 Tovey and Morris : 



SoLANUM ROSTRATUM, Dunal. " Buffalo Burr," or Pincushion Night- 

 shade " ( Solanaceae) . 



Annual, herbaceous, woody when old; somewhat hoary or yellow- 

 ish; 8 inches to 2 feet high; covered with copious stellate pubescence; 

 the branches and stems covered with sharp, yellow prickles; leaves 

 1-3 times pinnatifid; lobes roundish or obtuse, with uneven margins, 

 covered with soft pubescence, hairs star-shaped; flowers yellow; 

 corolla gamopetalous, 1 in. in diameter, nearly regular, the sharp lobes 

 of the corolla broadly ovate; stamens, 5 declined, anthers tapering up- 

 ward, linear lanceolate, dissimilar, the lowest much larger and longer 

 with incurved beak, hence the technical name rostratum; style much 

 declined; fruit a berry, but enclosed by the close fitting and prickly 

 calyx, fruit erect; seeds thick, irregular, round or somewhat longer 

 than broad, wrinkled showing numerous small pits; seeds surrounded 

 by a gelatinous substance. 



Bchuca, W. W. Cain, March, 1909; Benalla, W. B. Tiernan, Jan., 

 1913; Boweya, Vic, Feb., 1915; Neilborough district, Feb., 1921; also 

 in New South Wales and South Australia. 



In the " Weeds, Poison Plants and Naturalised Aliens of Victoria, 

 the foregoing specimens are given under the name of Solanum iieter- 

 andrum, Pursh., but on critical examination the material (in the Her- 

 barium) from Australian localities proved to be identical with authen- 

 tic specimens of S. rostratum, Dunal., and agreed with the description 

 of that species. The North American material (in our Herbarium), 

 apparently authentically labelled ^S. heterandrum, Pursh., also agreed 

 with the specimens, and description of 8. rostratum, Dunal.; 8. heter- 

 andrum, Pursh. is therefore apparently a synonym to S. rostratum, 

 Dunal., and will have to be deleted from the list of the Introduced 

 Flora of Victoria, and 8. rostratum substituted for it. 



Solanum triflorum, Nutt., " Spreading or Three-flowered Nightshade" 

 (Solanaceae). 



Annual, low spreading, slightly hairy or nearly glabrous, leaves 

 acute, pinnatifid 7-9 lobed; peduncles, 5-3 flowered; corolla white; 

 berries greenish or inclined to blackish, about the size of a small 

 cherry; pedicles reflexed in fruit. 



Black Mountains, 83 miles east of Bairnsdale, Vic, J. Clyde 

 Rogers, Feb., 1922 (per G. Renner, Botanical Assistant, Department of 

 Agriculture). Professor Chesnut says experiments on guinea pigs 

 show that the berries are poisonous. The active constituent is no 

 doubt solanin. The berry is not attractive to the eye, but has an 

 agreeable odour and taste. This plant, a native of North-West 

 America, has not been previously recorded as growing wild in Vic- 

 toria, but it will probably be found to have a fairly wide range, and 

 is likely to become a troublesome pest if allowed to spread. This plant 

 has been brought under the provisions of the Thistle Act for the 

 whole State. 



