104 



SOLANACEiE. 



SOLANUM. 



6. SOLANUM. Linn. ; Endl. gen. 3855. NIGHTSHADE. 



[ Etymology uncertain.] 



Calyx 5 - 10-parted, persistent. Corolla rotate or somewhat campanulate ; the limb plaited, 

 5 - 10-cleft. Stamens 5 : filaments very short : anthers large, connivent, opening by two 

 terminal pores. Berry 2 - 6-celled. — Herbs or undershrubs, and in hot countries shrubs 

 or even trees, often prickly. Leaves solitary or in pairs, entire or variously divided. 

 Inflorescence various. — Many of the species are more or less poisonous, and contain an 

 active principle called solanine. 



I . Solanum Dulcamara, Linn. Bittersweet. Wood Nightshade. 



Stem shrubby, flexuous, climbing, unarmed ; leaves ovate-cordate, the upper ones hastate ; 

 flowers in lateral cymes. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 185 ; Engl. hot. t. 565 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 156 ; 

 Bigel. mecl. hot. t. 18, and ft. Bost. p. 84 ; Torr. fl. I. p. 235 ; Beck, hot. p. 257 ; Dar- 

 lingt. fl. Cest. p. 136. 



Stem 6-8 feet long, smooth or a little pubescent. Lower leaves entire ; the upper ones 

 either hastate, or with two ear-like lobes at the base. Flowers in small cymes, which are 

 opposite the leaves. Calyx with short acute teeth. Corolla purple. Anthers connivent in a 

 pyramidal form. Berries oval, bright scarlet. 



Moist hedges and banks. June - August. Introduced. This plant once had reputation 

 as a remedy for rheumatism and scurvy, but is now seldom used. The root, when chewed, 

 is first bitter, then sweetish ; hence the common English name. 



2. Solanum nigrum, Linn. Common Nightshade, 



Herbaceous, unarmed ; stem angular, rough on the angles ; leaves ovate, repand- toothed 

 and waved ; flowers somewhat umbelled, drooping. — Linn. sp. 1. p. 186 ; Engl. hot. t. 566 ; 

 Dunul, Solan, p. 140 ; Pursh, fl. I. p. 156 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 84. S. nigrum, var. Vir- 

 ginian-mi, Linn. I. c. ; Torr. fl. I. p. 234 ; Beck, hot. p. 257 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 136. 

 S. alaium, Mozncli, meth. p. 474, ex Pers. S. pterocaule, Dunal, Solan, p. 153, ex Rcem. 

 Schult. syst. 4. p. 588. 



Annual. Stem 1-2 feet high, much branched and often spreading ; the angles sometimes 

 slightly winged. Leaves 2-3 inches long and 1-2 inches wide, varying from nearly entire 

 to coarsely repand-toothed, abruptly narrowed at the base. Umbels few-flowered. Teeth of 

 the calyx ovate, acutish. Corolla white, small ; the segments oblong-lanceolate, spreading or 

 reflexed. Berries globose, black when mature. 



Old fields, waste places, and about houses ; common. Introduced from Europe. July - 

 August. Th.s is a poisonous species. It differs in no important characters from the European 

 plant. 



