Ouscuta.] convolvulaceJe. 241 



base of the tube of the corolla. Ovary completely or partially 2-celled, with 



2 ovules in each. Styles 2, distinct, or more or less united. Fruit a dry or 



scarcely succulent capsule, usually opening transversely. Embryo spiral or 



curved round a fleshy albumen. — Stems leafless, thread-like, parasitical, usually 



bearing sessile clusters of small white or pink flowers. 



A considerable genus, dispersed over every part of the globe, except the extreme north and 

 south. 



1. C. japonica, Chois.; Engelm. Spec. Cuac. 67 {Tram. Acad. St. Louis, 

 i. 517). Stems not so slender as in most species. Flowers sessile or on very 

 short thick pedicels, solitary or more frequently clustered, with a broad scale- 

 like bract under each flower or pedicel, Sepals ^ line long, ovate, obtuse. 

 Corolla broadly tubular, 2 to 3 lines long, with 5 short spreading or reflexed 

 lobes. Anthers oval, nearly sessile at the mouth of the tube ; staminal scales 

 near the base, ovate or oblong, fringed. Ovary globular, with a central axis, 

 but not completely divided into 2 cells. Style nearly as long as the corolla- 

 tube, entire or shortly bifid, with thick oblong stigmas. Capsule thick, ovoid, 

 above 3 lines long. 



In woods at Little Hongkong, Champion, Wilford; also Wright. In China, Mantchuria, 

 and Japan. 



Order LXXVI. SOLANACE^. 



Flowers regular or nearly so. Calyx usually with 5, rarely with 4, 6, or 10 

 teeth, lobes, or segments. Corolla with 5 or rarely with 4 teeth or lobes, 

 folded or rarely imbricate in the bud. Stamens as many as the lobes of the 

 corolla, and alternating with them. Ovary superior, 2-celled, or rarely incom- 

 pletely 4-celled, with several ovules in each cell. Style simple, with an entire 

 or lobed stigma. Fiiijt an iudehiscent berry, or rarely a capsule, with several 

 seeds. Albumen copious, fleshy. Embryo usually curved or spiral surround- 

 ing the albumen, more rar^ straight and central. — ^Herbs, shrubs, or soft- 

 wooded trees. Leaves alternate} without stipules. 



A numerous Order, in the tropical and warmer regions of the globe, with a very few spe- 

 cies straying into more temperate climates. A l^rge proportion of the species contain more 

 or less of a narcotic poisonous principle, although several are among the inore important 

 articles of food. 



Fruit a prickly capsule. Corolla large, with a long tube 5. Datura. 



Fruit a berry. Corolla rotate, campanulate, or with a short tube. 

 Calyx inflated after flowering. Corolla campanulate. 



Calyx deeply 5-lobed, cordate at the base . . . . . . 3. Ntcandra. 



Calyx shortly 5-lobed 2. Physalis. 



Calyx not inflated, though often enlarged after flowering. 



Corolla rotate. Anthers erect aud conhivent, much longer than their 



filaments 1. Solanum. 



Corolla contracted into a tube at the base. Anthers shorter than 

 their filaments . . , . . . 4; Ltcium. 



1. SOLANUM, Linn. 



Corolla rotate or slightly cup-shaped, 5-angled or 5-lobed, folded in the 

 bud. Anthers on very short filaments, oblong or linear, erect and connivent 



