676 Obdeb 94.— SOLANAOBiE. 



8, ADPB^ssA Engelm. Cor. bj-oader ; caps, leas pointed ; sds. 2 to 4. — 111. to 

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



Order XCIV. SOLANACEiE. Nightshades. 



Plants herbaceous, rarely shnjbby, with a colorless juice and alternate leaves. 

 Flowers mostly regular, often extra-axillary, 5-parted, on braotless pedicels. Cor- 

 olla valvate or plicate in the bud and often convolute. Galyx persistent. Stamens 

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

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



lllust. in Figs. 64, 322. 



Genera 64, species 1000 or more (1675, Dunal.), generally diffused, but most abundant in tlie 

 tropics. 



Properties highly important. A large portion of the genera are pervaded by a narcotic prin- 

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

 active medicines, as the Henbane (Hyoscyamus), BeUadontia (Atropa), Stramonium (Datura), 

 Tohacco (Nicotiana), &c. At the same time several species of Solanum afford wholesome and 

 nutritious food, not because they are free from the narcotic principle, bnt because it is ezpelied 

 in the process of cooking or ripening in the sun. Such are'the tubers of the. invaluable Potato^ 

 the fruit of the Tomato and Mgg plant. The genus Capsicum is entirely free from narcotlne, 

 and produces the well-known stimulant fruit Cayenne Pepper. 



GENERA. 



§ Corolla wheel-sh.aped, the tube very sliort. Anthers convergent (a). 

 § Corolla bell-shaped, the broad tube including the erect anthers (b). 

 § 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 Ltcospersicum. 1 



a Stamens connivent, opening by terminal pores. Berry round Solanum. 2 



a Stamens connivent, opening by slits. Berry dryish, angular Cai'Sicum. 8 



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



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



b Corolla purplish. Berry black, sitting on the open cilyx Atbopa. 6 



C Stamens esserted, declining. Capsule opening by a lid Hyosoyamus. 7 



c Stamens included, unequal. Capsule opening by valves Petithia. S 



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



' d Stamens exserted, growing to the bottom of the tube LTCina. 10 



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



—Calyx terete. Stigma capitate Niootiaka. 12 



—Calyx teretish. Stigma 2-lobed. Flowers small Fabiaka IS 



1. LYCOSPER'SICUM, Toum. Tomato. (Gr. Av/Wf, a wolf, rrepatKOV, 

 a peach ; a fanciful name;.) Calyx 5 to 6 to c» parted ; corolla rotate, 

 with a short tube and a plioate-valvate limb ; stamens 5 to 6 to oo, ex- 

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

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

 Ped. extra-axillary, c»-flowered. 



L. esoul^ntum Mill. Hairy; st. herbaceous, weak; his. unequally pinnatlfid, 

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

 smooth. — (D 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 farrows, at first green, becoming 

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

 Tatiou is almost universal, for its agreeable and wholesome fruit, which presents 

 numerous varieties of form, size and color. 



2. SOLA'NUffl, L. Potato. (Derivation unknown.) Calyx 5- 

 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-oellcd, subglobous or de- 

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



