32 SOLANUM TORREYI.—TORREY’S SOLANUM. 
ered by good botanists members of it, were supposed to be in 
some measure poisonous. The tubers of the potato were 
thought to be safe only after they were cooked; and even 
within the memory of the present writer few persons thought 
it quite safe to eat a raw tomato. The immense quantities of 
tomatoes eaten uncooked in our time would have astonished 
our forefathers. It is not however clear how far they are 
poisonous. Griffith, in his “Medical Botany,” says the leaves 
of the tomato will produce vomiting; and other medical writers 
tell us that the “balls,” or seed-vessels of the potato, eaten have 
caused certain death. But who would make the trial, for these 
potato fruits are very nauseous, and have nothing to attract 
even a child? The Solanunze mammosum, with which our 
species was once associated, and to which it is closely allied, 
is said by Ainslee to bear “a large and poisonous fruit.” We 
give all this as part of the associated history, but have an 
impression that our pretty flowering species, S. Zorreyz, will 
not be found such a very bad fellow after all. 
Of late years much attention has been given to the study of 
the hairs of plants. They often exhibit a great variety in form 
and structure, and as in S. Zorrey? the hairs are particularly 
referred to by Dr. Gray in the description quoted from _ his 
work, we have given an enlarged drawing of one which in 
this case is branched, or in botanical language, stellate. There 
seemed to be none “eight to twelve rayed” on our plant, as 
Dr. Gray finds in his specimens. All were uniformly seven 
rayed, as in our very much magnified engraving (Fig. 2), which 
is given as a back view showing a small pedicel to which the 
rays are attached. 
For the opportunity of illustrating this rare and pretty spe- 
cies we are indebted to the Cambridge Botanical Garden, where 
it was growing to perfection under the care of Mr. W. Falconer, 
gardener there. 
EXPLANATIONS OF THE PLATE.—1. A flowering branch. 2. Stellate hair enlarged from the 
under-side of a leaf. 
