PoTATO FAMILY. 139 
three inches long. The flowers, blooming in April, are 
pale yellow and tubular, with the style protruding beyond 
the stamens. 
POTATO FAMILY—Solanaceae. 
BITTERSWEET, Solanum Dulcamara L., other common 
names of which are, Woody Nightshade, Bittersweet- 
nightshade, and Scarlet Berry, is a poisonous plant con- 
taining solanin and dulcamarin, the latter of which gives 
the berries their peculiar taste, sweetish at first, but later 
bitter. Solanidin and solanein are also present. The 
berries and leaves are poison, but only mildly so, consider- 
able quantities being required to produce the character- 
istic narcotic effects. 
It is a straggling or climbing perennial, with peculiar, 
irregular, halberd-shaped leaves and cymose clusters of 
purple flowers shaped somewhat like those of the potato, 
with prominent yellow stamens. The berries are round 
or slightly oval, and of an attractive, bright red colour. 
The plant grows from the Atlantic to Ontario and south- 
ward, and is quite readily recognized by its peculiarly 
shaped leaves. 
THE COMMON NIGHTSHADE, Solanum nigrum L., also 
known as Black, Deadly, or Garden Nightshade, contains 
-solanin and solanidin. The berries are used as food to 
some extent, but should be eaten with caution. They are 
probably more poisonous when not completely ripe. Some 
plants contain more poison than others, the amount vary- 
ing with varying conditions of climate and soil. In cases 
of poisoning reported to have been caused both by berries 
and by leaves, the symptoms are staggering, loss of feel- 
