1678 



SOLANUM 



SOLANUM 



are wliite. purple or yellow. The species are herbs in 

 temperate climates, hut in warm countries many of 

 them are f^hrnbby and some are small trees. Many of 

 them are climbers. It is impracticable to distribute the 

 few cultivated species into the various botanical groups 

 of a great genus, and the following species are there- 

 fore assembled on a purely horticultural plan. 



'"J'-Ka, ^ ^W^^V 



A. Spi'cirs lu'/irf)){/ underf/roKiifl luhrrs: Irs. p'nniitie. 



(See Baker, Journ. Linn. Snc L^l, for account of 



tlie tuberiferous Solauunis.) 



1. tuberbsum, Linn. Potato. Fig^. lirjD. lO.^tO; 2'.\'M\. 



Low, weak-stemmed, niucli -branch eii perennial' with 



tender, herha'-eous tops, and perpetuating itself asex- 



ually by means of thickened or tuberous underground 

 stems, glabrous or pube.scent-hirsute ; Iv.s. unequally 

 pinnate, the 5-9 oblong-ovate Ifts. interpose<l with much 

 smaller ones: lis. lilac or white, in loug-steinmed 

 dichotomous clusters, the corolla prominently k)bed: fr. 

 a small gloluilar yellow berry, usually not produced in 

 the highly developed modern varieties. Temperate 

 Andes of Chile and ail jacent regions. — See PnAaM. There 

 is a form with yellow-blotched lv.s. (known as var, va- 

 riegation) sometimes cult, for ornament. 



Var. bore^le, Gray (;S'. F^nd/eri, Gray). Plant usu- 

 ally smaller, as also the tubers, which are about % in. 

 in diani. and send ott" long, creeping subterranean 

 stolons: interposed Ifts. one or two or even none: 

 corolla angled. Mts., S. Colo, to Mex. — Apparently only 

 a northward extension of the species. 



2. Maglia, Schlecht. Dakwjn Potato. More slender 

 and erect than 6'. inhero^intt and nearly or quite gla- 

 brous: Ifts. usually smaller, the interposed ones few 

 and very small: fls. smaller than those of S- tuheroamn, 

 white, slender -pediceled, in loose, long-forked cymes: 

 tubers small (2 in. or less long), globose or oblong, soft 

 and watery. Coast region of Chile. B.M. 6750. — Some- 

 times cult, as a curiosity. It has been thought by some 

 to be the original of the Potato, but this is now given 

 up. Darwin describes the plant in liis "Naturalist's 

 Voyage." As grown by the writer, the plant has given 

 little promise in the production of tubers, for the 

 tubers are small and soft. 



3. J^mesii, Torr. Low and slender, 12-18 in. tall un- 

 der cultivation, the .small angular branches glalirous or 

 soon becoming so: Ivs. oblong in general outline, the 



rachis narr(.iw-win.u:ed, the Ifts. 5-9, with no iu- 

 terpos.'d small ones, small and lanceolate-ob- 

 long in shape : tls, small, white, the corolla 

 deeply cleft and the anthers large and promi- 

 nent: tubers few, globular, hard, 1 in. or less 

 in diameter, withstanding frost. Mts. of Colo., 

 N. Mex. ;iud Ariz. B. M. 676G. — Sometimes 

 cult, as ;t curiosity. The tubers do not appear 

 to be eaten. 



AA. Si"'ci<'S gvoirii [Or collected) fm- the edible 

 t ni its: tf.s, .simple. 

 4. nigrum, Linn. Black Nightshade. Mn- 

 RELLE -'f the French. Annual, 1-2 ft., braiich- 

 JH^j;, glabrous or nearly so; Ivs. simple and en- 

 tire, ovate to cuueate -ovate, pointed, long- 

 stalked: Ms. white, small, in few-tUl. clusters, 

 the peiliceis drooping: fr. globular, black, size 

 of a pea.— A widespread weedy plant. In the 

 Dakotas, accortling to Hansen, the phmt is 

 often called " Stnbbleberry," as it volunteers 

 freely in wheat stubble, and the fruit is nuich 

 used there for pies and preserves. Hansen finds 

 that the plants withstand considerable frost. 

 In warm countries, according to Vilniorin, the 

 leaves are sometimes eaten as spinach is, "and 

 -'■ apparently without any injurious result, al- 



rlmugh tin- jdant lielongs to the dangerous fam- 

 ily of the SMlanareic." The writer has grown the plant 

 fcoui Frencli s<-eds, l.mt he does not know that it is in 

 tlie Ainerii'iiii trade. The species is exceedingly vari- 

 able. *.Tray thinks that the species should include 

 "many and perhaps most of HO and more species of 

 Dunai in the Prodromus, weeds or weedy plants, widely 

 diffused over the world, especially in the warmer por- 

 tions." 



.". muricatum, Ait, {S. Gitatemah'nse, Hort.). Pepino. 

 Melon Pear. Melon Shrub. Fig. 23;i7. Erect bushy 

 herb or subshrub, not spiny, glabrous or nearly so: Ivs. 

 long and narrow, mostly oblong-lauceolate, ta}>erint; to 

 the petiole and als<;» to the nearly or quite obtuse point, 

 the margin wholly entire or somewhat undulate: tls. 

 rather small, bright blue, deeply 5-lobed, inclined or 

 nodding in a long-stalked forking cluster: fr. \owg- 

 ovoid or egg-shaped, long-stalked, yellow overlaid with 

 streaks and splashes of violet-purple, incult. specimens 

 4-(; in. long and seedless. Trop. Amer., at temperate 

 elevations. G.F. 5:17:i. G.C. HI. n:309. -This plant at- 

 tracted some attention in this country about ten years 

 ago. It appears to have been introduced into the United 



