576 Ordeb 9i.— solan ACE^. 



a, ADPRiSsSA. Bngelm. Cor. broader ; caps, leaa pointed ; sda. 2 to i. — HI. to 

 Va. and La., on Rhus, Smilax, &c. 



Order XCIV. SOLANACEyE. Nightshades. 



Plants herbaceous, rarely shrubby, with a colorless juico and alternate leaves. 

 Flowers mostly regular, often extra-axillary, 6-parted, on bractless pedicels. Cor- 

 olla ralvato or plicate in the bud and often convolute. Calyx persistent. Stamens 

 5, adherent to the corolla tube, alternate with its lobes ; anthers 2-celled. Fruit a 

 2-celled capsule or berry. Seeds oo, with a curved embryo in fleshy albumen. 



Illust. in Figs. 54, 322. 



Genefa 64, species 1000 or more (1675, Dunal.), generally diffused, but most abuDdant In tbe 

 tropics. 



Projicriles biglily important. A large portion of the genera are pervaded by a narcotic prin- 

 ciple, rendering the herbage and fruit dangerously poisonous, yet furnishing eome of the most 

 active medicines, as the lienhane (Hyoscyamus), Belladomut (Atropa), Stramonium (Datura), 

 Tsbacco (Nicotiana), &c. At the same lime several species of Bolauum afford wholesome and 

 nutritious food, not because they are free froni^lie narcotic principle, but because it is expelled 

 U the process of cooking or ripening in the suH. Such are the tubers of the invaluable Potato^ 

 the fruit of the Tomato and JSrig plant. The genns Capsicum is entirely free from narcotine, 

 and produces the well-known stimulant fruit Cayenne Pepper, 



GENERA. 



S Corolla wheel-shaped, the tube very short. Anthers convergent (a). 

 § Corolla beil-shaped, the bread tube including the erect anthers (b). 

 5 Corolla funnel-form, tube long, and — the limb somewhat irregular (c). 

 — the limb quite regular (d). 



a Stamens connate, opening by slits Inside. Berry torous Ltcospeksicum. 1 



a Stamens conni^ent, opening by terminal pores. Berry round Solanum. 2 



a Stamens conniVeut, opening by slits. Berry dryish, angular Capsicum. 8 



b Corolla bluish. Berry dry, inclosed in the enlarged calyx Nicandea. 4 



b Corolla yellowish. Berry juicy, inclosed in the enlarged calyx Putsalis. 5 



b Corolla purplish. Berry black, sitting on the open calyx Atropa. 6 



C Stamena esserted, declining. Capsule opening by a lid Hyoscyamub. 7 



Stamens included, unequal. Capsule opening by valves PETtrNlA. 8 



d Stamens exserted, growing to the summit of the tube _ Neibembekgia. 9 



d Stamens o-^serted, growing to the bottom of the tube Ltcifm. lO 



d Stamens included. — Calyx 5-angled. Capsule spiny or smooth Datuea. 11 



—Calyx terete. Stigma capitate Nicotiasa. 12 



—Calyx teretish. Stigma 2-lob6d. Flowere small Faeiaha. 18 



1. LYCOSPER'SICUffl, Tourn. Tomato. (Gr. XvKoq, a wolf, nepaiKov, 

 a peach. ; a fanciful name.) Calyx 5 to 6 to co-parted ; corolla rotate, 

 with a short tube and a plicate-valvate limb ; stamens 5 to 6 to co, ex- 

 serted ; anthers connate at apex, longitudinally dehiscent on the inner 

 face; berry fleshy, 2 to 3 to co-celled. — Lvs. pinnately compound. 

 Pod. extra-axillary, co -flowered. 



L. esculenttim Mill. Hairy; st. herbaceous, weak; lvs. unequally pinnatifid, 

 segments cut, glaucous beneath ; cor. many-lobed ; fr. torulous, furrowed, 

 smooth. — Q This plant resembles the potato in its general aspect. It grows 3 

 — if high, with jagged leaves, greenish-yellow flowers, and an unpleasant odor. 

 The fruit is large and abundant, with acute furrows, at first green, becoming 

 when ripe of a beautiful red. This plant has come into high repute, and its culti- 

 vation is almost universal, for its agreeable and wholesome fruit, which presenta 

 numerous varieties of form, size and color. 



2. SOLA'HUM, L. Potato. (Derivation unknown.) Calyx 6- 

 parted, persistent; corolla rotate, subcampanulate, tube very short, 

 limb plicate, 5-cleft, lobed or angular ; anthers erect, connivent, dis- 

 tinct, opening at the top by 2 pores ; berry 2-celled, subglobous or de- 

 pressed ; seeds oo. — An immense genus of herbs or shrubs, unarmed oi 



