580 Obdeb 94.— SOLANACB^. 



berry globous, 2-celled, Bitting on the enlarged calyx. — Herbs of lurid 



colors. Lvs. often twin. 



A. Belladonna L. St. triehotomous ; lvs. ovate, entire ; berries black.— 

 This poisonous herb is far less repulsive in- its appearance than most others of ite 

 order. Tlie lurid, pale purple of the flower, indeed, looks suspicious, but not its 

 smell — nor the berries, which are larger than cherries, round, green, at length of 

 a fine, glossy black, fuU of a purple juice. Stem 5f Iiigh, brandling below, and 

 with the large leaves, incUnes more or leas to a purplish hue. J § Eur. 



7. HYOSCY'AfflUS, Tourn. Henbane. (Gr. vg, v6g, a pig, and 

 Kvafiog, bean ; the fruit is said to be not poisonous to swine.) Calyx 

 tubular, 5-cleft ; corolla infundibuliform, irregular ; one of the 5 obtuse 

 lobes larger ; stamens 5, declinate ; stigma capitate ; capsule ovoid, 2- 

 celled, opening with a lid near the summit. — Coarse, weed-like herbs, 

 native in Eastern countries. 



H. niger L. Branching, erect, very leafy ; lvs. sinuate, clasping ; fls. sessile. — ® 

 A tall, well known, foetid weed, growing about the rubbisli of old houses, road- 

 sides, &c. The whole plant is hairy, viscid, and of a sea-green hue, emitting a 

 foetid odor. Stem 2f high, round. Leaves large, oblong, cut into acute, sinuate 

 lobes. Flowers in terminal, one-sided spikes ; the coroUa straw-colcr, finely reti- 

 culated with dark purple veins. The whole plant is reputed poisonous, but has 

 long been regarded as an excellent medicine in nervous diseases, coughs, convul- 

 sions, &c. Jl. § Eur. 



8. PETU^NIA, Juss. (The Brazilian name is ^ctera, latinized i'eiz*- 

 nia.) Calyx tubular, 10-veined, 5-parted, segments oblong-spatulate ; 

 corolla funnel or salver-form, teeth cylindric, limb spreading, usually 5- 

 lobed ; stamens 5, inserted in the middle of the tube, unequal, included, 

 anthers cordate ; stigma capitate ; capsule 2-celled ; seeds minute. — 

 South American herbs. Lvs. alternate, entire, the floral twin. Ped. 1- 

 flowered. 



1 P. Nyctaginifldra Juss. Diffuse, 'glandular- villous; st. erect, branched; 

 lvs. solitary, ovate-oblong, ohktsish, svbsessile, floral sessile, cordate-ovate, suboppo- 

 aite ; ped. axillary, solitary, exceeding the leaves ; cor. tube shghtly enlarged 

 above, thrice longer than the calyx, with a wide-spreading Umb. — 1( Gardeua 

 Fls. large, white, numerous. 



2 P. violeicea Lindl. Glandular hairy; st. prostrate at base, then erect, spar- 

 ingly branched ; lvs. ovate, sluni-petiolate, acute, the upper ovate-lanceolate ; ped. 

 solitary, equaling the leaves ;' cor. tube inflated, limb cleft into rounded, acute 

 lobes. — U Sts. numerous, 6 to 16' long. Cor. large, violet-purple. Both species 

 are great favorites in gardens, and by mixture sport into endless varieties, among 

 which is 



/?. Atkinsiana. Lvs. ovate, whitish ; cal. segm. ligulate ; cor. tube twice or 

 more longer than the calyx. 



9. NIEREMBER'GIA, Ruiz et Pav. (Named for Nieremherg, a Span- 

 ish Jesuit.) Calyx persistent, tubular or subcampanulate, 10-veined, 

 curved, 5-cleft; corolla fiinnel-form, tube long and slender, limb ample, 

 spreading, plicate, slightly unequal ; stamens 5, inserted in the throat, 

 unequal, connivent ; anthers hid beneath the stigma ; capsule 2-celled, 

 seeds many, minute, 3-angled. — South American, chiefly herbs, creep- 

 ing, with elegant, solitary, extra-axillary fls. 



1 N. aristita Sweet. Puberuleni, pale-green; sts. filiform, very branching; lvs. 

 narrowly linear, acute; fls. pedunculate, opposite th& leaves, solitary; cal. cam- 

 panulate, seg. linear-siibulate, acute, tv/ice shorter than the slender, glandular cor. 

 tube. — St. 3 to 9' long. Lvs. 1 to 2' long, 1" wide. Cor. large, white, tinged 

 with purple, 3 strias on each lobe. 



