256 



WEEDS AND USEFUL PLANTS. 



4. PHY'SALIS, L. Ground- Cherry. 



[Greeic, Physa, a bladder, or bag ; in allusion to the inflated calyx.] 



Calyx 5-cleft, enlarging- after flowering, becoming much inflated, and in- 

 cluding the 2-celled globular (edible) fleshy berry. Corolla spreading 

 bell-shaped, marked with 5 concave spots at the base ; the plicate bor- 

 der somewhat 5-lobed or 5-toothed. Leaves somewhat in pairs ; pedun- 

 cles extra axillary, nodding, 1-flowered. 



1. P, visco'sa, L. Root perennial ; divergently branching ; leaves 

 somewhat heart-ovate, repandly toothed ; corolla brownish in the throat. 



Clammy Physalis. Cround-cherry. 



stem 12-18 inches high, branched somewhat dichotomously and with the whole plant 

 clammy pubescent. Leaves 2-4 inches long, varying from lance-ovate and acute to 

 roundish ovate or sub-cordate and obtuse ; petioles 1-2 inches long. Corolla greenish- 

 yellow, with fuscous or purplish brown spots at base, about twice as long as the calyx. 

 Berry greenish-yellow or sometimes orange color, when mature. Pedundcs of the fruit 

 about an inch long. 



Common in light sandy soils • also cultivated. Fl. July. Fr. September. 



2. P. Alkeken'gi, L. Perennial ; leaves deltoid-ovate, acuminate ; 

 corolla not spotted. 



Strawberry Tomato. Ground-cherry. 



Less branching than the preceding. Leaves attenuated into a long petiole ; 3 - 4 inches 

 long including the petiole and 1>^- 2 inches broad The inflated calyx becoming reddish at 

 maturity. Berry red. 



Native of Europe. Cultivated. 



Obs. Both the species of Physalis above-mentioned have within a few 

 years come into cultivation. The ripe fruit has a very pleasant flavor, 

 and is eaten raw or cooked. 



5. LY'CIUM, L. Matrimony-vine. 



[Named from Lycia, in Asia Minor.] 



Calyx irregularly 2 - 3 or 5-cleft, persistent. Corolla tubular-funnel-form ; 



border mostly 5-lobed, spreading. Stamens usually exserted ; filaments 



bearded. Berry 2-celled ; seeds reniform. Shrubby vines with entire 



leaves ; flowers solitary or in pairs on extra-axillary peduncles. 



1. L. Bar'barum, L. Somewhat spinose ; branches elongated, flaccid 



and dependent ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, often clustered ; calyx mostly 



5-cleft. 



Barbarian Lycium. Bastard Jasmine. Matrimony-vine. Barbary 

 Box-thorn. Duke of Argyle"s Tea-tree. 



Perennial. Stem 10 -20 feet long, slender, much branched, with indurated points at 

 the axils or base of the leaves. Leaves 1-3 inches long, tapering at base to a petioU 

 about half an inch in length. Peduncles about an inch long, slender, often 2-4 together • 

 corolla greenish-purple ; hemj oval, orange-red when mature. ' 



About dwellings. Native of Northern Asia. June -July. 



Obs. This straggling half-vine kind of shrub is partially naturalized in 



