THE SOLANUMS. 
45 
more, and lias purplish-red flowers, scarcely 
inferior to those of the Chrysanthemum, or 
the Poppy Anemone of the East : they are, 
indeed, not unlike a small semi-douhle Dahlia 
bloom, and are fully as large as a small 
Dahlia. Its degree of hardness is not yet 
ascertained, but it is expected to bear the 
severity of our winters, — and if so, will prove 
a most valuable addition to hardy border 
flowers. It flowers in September and October ; 
and was introduced by the Horticultural So- 
ciety, who received it from their collector, 
Mr. Fortune, in 1844. Mr. Fortune met with 
it at Shanghae, the Japanese port of China. 
According to Dr. Siebold, it inhabits damp 
woods on the edges of rivulets, on a mountain 
called Kissune, near the city of Miako, in 
Japan. It grows also at considerable eleva- 
tions on the mountains in the centre of Japan, 
whence Siebold concludes that it will bear the 
rigour of a continental winter. It is much cul- 
tivated by the Japanese for its beautiful flowers. 
In the garden of the Horticultural Society, 
it has hitherto been kept in a pot, in a cool 
green-house : this was, however, on account of 
its scarcity, and for fear of losing it ; and such 
treatment is by no means expected to be re- 
quired. It will grow freely in any rich, light 
loamy soil ; and requires a considerable, rather 
abundant, supply of water. 
In the natural arrangement it ranks under 
Banunculaceae ; and in the Linntean, under 
Polyandria polygynia. 
small seeds are embedded. The flowers are 
very elegant, and are produced about the 
month of June, and the berries become ripe 
towards autumn, and then have a very beau- 
THE SOLAN UMS. 
Tiierb are two species of Solanum, natives 
of Britain, which are employed in medicine, 
the Solanum Dulcamara, and the Solanum 
nigrum, both common weeds. 
Solanum Dulcamara, (the Bitter-sweet Dul- 
camara, or woody Nightshade,) grows abund- 
antly on moist banks, on old walls, in hedges, 
and on waste places. It is also found in tem- 
perate countries in Europe, Asia, and Ame- 
rica. It is a slender, branching, climbing 
plant, with shrubby brittle zigzag stems, 
growing eight or ten feet high, supported by 
the bushes among which it grows. The 
leaves are generally ovate, or ovate heart- 
shaped, the upper ones usually more or less hal- 
berd-shaped, or with a small lobe or auricle at 
the base of each on each side; they are generally 
smooth, all entire at the margin. The flowers 
are produced in loose branching clusters, 
cither opposite the leaves, or terminal, droop- 
ing, and spreading ; they are divided into live 
pointed segments, and are of a purple or 
violet colour, with yellow projecting stamens ; 
they are succeeded by roundish oval berries, 
which, when ripe, are of a bright red colour, 
and contain a fleshy pulp, in which numerous 
Solanum Dulcamara {one-lhird natural size.) 
tiful appearance ; indeed, viewing it apart 
from its plebeian character, the plant is by no 
means an unhandsome one. The plant is 
deciduous, that is, shedding its leaves on the 
approach of winter : it may be readily identified 
from the annexed figure. There are several 
recorded varieties of this plant, differing for 
the most part but slightly from the original ; 
thus we have alba, with white flowers; cornea, 
with flesh-coloured ones ; violacea and hirsuta, 
both with purple flowers ; plena, a double 
flowered variety; variegata, v/ith leaves varie- 
gated with white ; and one or two other slight 
variations. All these are found in Britain. 
The Dulcamara is a very dangerous narco- 
tic plant ; both the stems and roots, as well 
as the berries, are poisonous. The stems, 
when broken or bruised, yield a strong and 
peculiar odour, like rats and mice : when 
chewed they have first a bitter nauseous taste, 
which is quickly followed by a considerable 
degree of sweetness, and hence the name of 
Dulcamara, or bitter sweet, which is com- 
pounded from dulcis, sweet, and amara, bitter. 
The roots smell like potatoes, and produce 
the same kind of sensations as the stems. The 
berries are poisonous, and by children, and 
persons unacquainted with plants, might rea- 
dily be mistaken for currants, having a very 
templing appearance ; they excite vomiting 
and nausea, and it is stated that thirty of 
them killed a dog in less than three hours, re- 
maining undigested in the stomach ; and there 
are numerous recorded instances of their fatal 
