THE ORDER SOLANACEÆ: ILLUSTRATED BY THE BITTER-SWEET; GARDEN NIGHTSHADE; POTATO; EGG-PLANT; TOMATO; CAPSICUM; WINTER CHERRY; CAPE GOOSEBERRY; THE DEADLY NIGHTSHADE; LYCIUM, OR DUKE OF ARGYLE’S TEA-TREE; CESTRUM; VESTIA; TOBACCO; PETUNIA; NIEREMBERGIA; SALPIGLOSSIS; SCHIZANTHUS; HENBANE; DATURA; BRUGMANSIA; SOLANDRA; VERBASCUM; CELSIA; NOLANA; ETC.

This large Order is one of those which appear to have been most troublesome to botanists, as scarcely any two agree as to the plants to be comprised in it. I have, however, taken it in its most comprehensive sense, as far as popular plants are concerned; on the same principles as those by which I have been guided throughout; viz. that it is easier for a beginner to remember a few divisions than a great many; and that when a student has once learnt what plants are nearly allied to each other, and the general features that connect them, it will be comparatively easy to learn the minor distinctions between them.

Taking these principles as my guide, I have given the Order SolanaceÆ as it was formed by Jussieu, adding those plants to it which evidently belong to the several sections, but which have been discovered since the time of that great naturalist; and I have divided the Order into four tribes, viz. SolanaceÆ, NicotianeÆ, VerbascineÆ, and NolaneÆ. All these plants agree in having the stamens, which are generally five, inserted in the corolla, the calyx and corolla inclosing the ovary, and the calyx remaining on the ripe fruit.

TRIBE I.—SOLANACEÆ.

The plants included in this tribe are easily recognised by their flowers, which bear a considerable resemblance to each other, and by their berry-like fruit, which has always a persistent calyx. The corolla is also always folded in the bud; and the folds, like those of a country woman’s clean apron, are often so deeply impressed as to be visible in the newly opened flowers. The genera included in this tribe differ widely in their qualities.

The genus Solanum is easily recognised by a botanist through all its numerous species by its anthers, which open by two pores like those of the EricaceÆ, and which differ in this respect, from the anthers of all the other plants contained in the Order, all of which open by a long slit down each cell. The flowers of all the species of Solanum are of the kind called rotate, or wheel-shaped; but they are generally cut into five distinct segments: which are sometimes turned back, as in the flower of the Bitter-sweet (S. Dulcamara), as shown in fig. 68 a; and sometimes nearly flat, Fig.68.—Bitter-sweet (Solanum Dulcamara). as in the flower of the common garden Nightshade (S. nigrum). The berries of the Bitter-sweet (b) are red, and they have a very pretty effect in hedges and wild coppices, where they are produced in great abundance during the latter part of summer and autumn; and those of the Garden Nightshade are black. Both these plants are poisonous; but this is by no means the case with all the species of the genus, as the tubers of the potato (S. tuberosum) are, as is well known, wholesome food, and the fruit or apple is not decidedly poisonous; while the Aubergine, or Egg-plant (S. Melongena), which is another species, has a fruit which is large, smooth and shining, and which when boiled or stewed is good to eat. The segments of the corolla of this species are often so deeply notched as to appear to be six or nine, instead of five.

There are many ornamental species of Solanum, many of which have woolly, and some prickly leaves; but the flowers have all such a likeness to each other, as seldom to require to be botanically examined to be recognised.

The Tomato or Love-apple, (Lycopersicum esculentum,) has flowers which bear a great resemblance to those of some of the species of Solanum, but the anthers open longitudinally and are connected by a membrane into a kind of cylinder. The seeds also are hairy; and the berry is wrinkled, and not of so firm a texture as in Solanum. The flowers of this plant are frequently united, so as to appear to have double or treble the usual number of stamens, and two or three styles; and when this is the case, the fruit appears deformed from two or three of the ovaries having grown together. The fruit is very good to eat, and wholesome either boiled or stewed, or as sauce. There are several species, all of which were formerly included in the genus Solanum.

The plants belonging to the genus Capsicum have flowers which are very much like those of the Tomato, and which have similar anthers; but the fruit differs in being a dry, inflated, hollow berry, inclosing numerous seeds, and in both the seeds and their cover having a fiery biting heat to the taste. There are several species with fruit of greater or less size, and different colours; generally red or yellow, but sometimes white or green. The best Cayenne pepper is made from the pods of C. frutescens, dried in an oven and then reduced to powder. The annual species (C. annuum) has many varieties; one of which produces the small pods called by the market-gardeners Chilies, and which are eaten fresh by dyspeptic patients, to assist digestion.

The Winter Cherry (Physalis Alkekengi) has the same kind of flower as the other genera of this tribe. The corolla is rotate, and obscurely five-lobed; and the stamens, which are connivent, (that is, lying close together), have very large anthers. When the corolla falls, the calyx becomes inflated, and expands to a large size, completely enclosing the little berry-like fruit in the centre. A very beautiful preparation may be made by soaking this calyx in water till it becomes completely macerated; that is, till all the pulp is decayed and only the fibrous part left. The inflated calyx then appears like a beautiful network covering, with the bright red berry in the centre. To macerate the calyx properly, it should be left in the same water without changing, for about six weeks. The Cape Gooseberry (P. peruviana) is another species of the genus Physalis; but instead of being a native of Europe, it is from Peru; and its flowers, instead of being white, are yellow, with a dark red spot at the base of each lobe of the corolla: the berry also is yellow. This species is called Cape Gooseberry, because it is cultivated as a fruit at the Cape of Good Hope.

The Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) differs widely from Fig.69.—Deadly Nightshade (Atropa Belladonna). all the preceding genera in having a bell-shaped corolla, (see a in fig. 69,) and in the anthers (b) not lying close together. It has, however, a permanent calyx and a two-celled berry, like the rest.

The Barbary Box-thorn, or Duke of Argyle’s Tea-tree, (Lycium barbarum) has a somewhat rotate corolla, with a five-cleft limb, with the stamens inserted between the segments in the same manner as shown in the flower of the Atropa Belladonna, represented cut open at b in fig. 69. The filaments are hairy at the base, and the anthers are near together, but do not form a cone as in Solanum. The berry is two-celled, and the calyx remains on when it is ripe, as in all the other genera of this order. There are several species of Lycium, which are all known by the English name of Box-thorn; but L. barbarum is also called the Duke of Argyle’s Tea-tree, from a story told of this plant being sent to a Duke of Argyle early in the last century, instead of the true Tea-tree. The story, however, is very doubtful; and the more so, as in France, the dwarf Chinese Elm is called ThÉ de l’AbbÉ Gallois, as it is said, from a similar cause.

Cestrum Parqui is a very handsome half-hardy shrub, which may be placed in this division from its berry-like fruit. It has a funnel-shaped corolla, with a five-lobed limb, enclosing its five stamens. The flowers are disposed in an upright raceme; they are yellow, and very fragrant. The berries are of a very dark blue, and almost black when ripe. Vestia is another genus very nearly allied to Cestrum, but the stamens project beyond the mouth of the corolla instead of being enclosed within it; and the flowers, which are produced singly, have a very disagreeable smell.

TRIBE II.—NICOTIANEÆ.

The plants included in this tribe agree with those of the preceding division, in having the corolla generally folded in large plaits in the bud; but they are distinguished by having all capsular fruit: that is, in all the plants belonging to this tribe, the seed-vessel is dry and hard when ripe, and not soft and pulpy like a berry. The species have nearly all funnel-shaped flowers, with a long tube and a spreading limb; the tube is generally very long in proportion to the limb, and it is often inflated, so as to appear much wider in the upper part than near the calyx.

The Virginian Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is an example of an inflated tube to the corolla (see fig. 70, a); the limb Fig.70.—Virginian Tobacco. is small and divided into five pointed segments; and the capsule (b), which opens at the point into four valves when ripe, contains numerous seeds. The whole plant is covered with a clammy down, particularly the leaves, which are large and flabby, and which have their footstalks dilated at the base, so as partly to enfold the stem. There are many species of Nicotiana, some of which are very ornamental. It is the dried leaves that are used as tobacco, or ground into snuff.

The Petunias are so well known, that I need say very little of the general form of their flowers, except to point out the connexion between them and the Tobacco. The corolla is salver-shaped, with a cylindrical tube, wider at the top than at the base, and a five-lobed limb. There are five stamens of unequal length, which are hidden in the tube of the corolla. The stigma has a broad head which is slightly two-lobed; and the calyx remains on the ripe capsule, which is two-celled, and opens in the upper part with two valves. The seeds are numerous and very small, and the leaves are pubescent and slightly clammy. If my readers will take the trouble to compare the Petunia and the Tobacco, they will be surprised to find how much the flowers are botanically alike. The differences are, that the calyx is more leaf-like in the Petunia than in the Tobacco; and the corolla of the Petunia is somewhat oblique, that is, two of the segments are smaller than the others; the filaments, also, are thickened at the base. It will appear extraordinary to every one acquainted with the flowers of the purple and the white Petunias, to find that some botanists have placed them in different genera. Such, however, is the case. On cutting open the delicate little seed of the white Petunia (P. nyctaginiflora), which it must have been very difficult to do, and ex amining it in a very powerful microscope, the embryo or germ of the future plant was found to be curved like that of most of the other SolanaceÆ; whereas when the seed of the purple Petunia (P. phoenicea or violacea) was examined in the same manner, the embryo was discovered to be straight. This purple Petunia has consequently puzzled botanists as much as some of the other plants I have had occasion to mention; and it has been called successively Petunia violacea, Salpiglossis integrifolia, Nierembergia phoenicea, and Petunia phoenicea.

Nierembergia is a genus of ornamental greenhouse plants, easily distinguished from the Petunias by the great length of the tube of the corolla, and by the equal segments of the limb. The stamens also project beyond the flower, being inserted in the throat of the corolla, and the filaments grow together at the base; the stigma, is, likewise, curiously dilated into a kind of crescent shape, and it is folded in a very singular manner round the filaments, as if to support the anthers. The most common species of this genus are N. filicaulis, N. calycina, and N. gracilis.

The genus Salpiglossis is now confined to one species, S. sinuata, so called from its notched or scolloped leaves; all the different kinds being now considered only varieties. The calyx in this species is five-angled and five-cleft, and the corolla is funnel-shaped, the tube being very narrow near the base, and spreading out wider towards the mouth. The limb is five-cleft, and there are five stamens, one being much smaller than the others. The stigma is transverse, with a channel through the centre.

Schizanthus is another genus nearly allied to the last, but it is more difficult to give a just idea of it than of any other that I have attempted to describe. All the parts of the flower are irregular. The segments of the calyx are uneven; and the limb of the corolla is cut into a number of irregular lobes. There are only two perfect stamens, but there are two other small ones without any pollen in their anthers, and the rudiments of a fifth. The two perfect stamens are very elastic, springing upwards and discharging their pollen at the slightest touch. The capsule is two-celled, the valves opening at top; and the leaves are bi-pinnatifid.

The genera Salpiglossis and Schizanthus have been removed by Dr. Lindley from SolanaceÆ, and placed by him in the allied order ScrophularinaceÆ, or the Foxglove family.

The Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) has the calyx ventricose at the base, and the corolla campanulately funnel-shaped; the limb is five-cleft, and one of the segments is larger than the rest; but the most remarkable part of this plant Fig.71.—Henbane. is the capsule. When the corolla falls, the capsule shrouded in the calyx presents the appearance shown at a in fig. 71; and as the seeds ripen, the upper part (as shown at b) becomes detached, and opens like a little cap. The leaves are sinuated and semi-decurrent. There are several species of Henbane, one of which (H. aurea) has the limb of the corolla deeply cut on only one side.

The genus Datura is nearly allied to Brugmansia, but it may be easily distinguished by its calyx, which divides when the ovary begins to swell, and the upper part drops off, leaving only the lower part to enfold the capsule. The corolla of all the species of Datura is funnel-shaped, and the limb, in the large-flowered kinds, often shows marks of the plaits in which it lay when it was folded in the bud. There are five distinct stamens, which are generally enclosed in the mouth of the corolla. The capsule is fleshy when young, and in most of the species it is covered with spines. This is the case with D. Stramonium (the common Thorn-apple), D. Tatula, and D. Metel, all of which have also their stamens enclosed; but in D. ceratocaulon the capsule is smooth and the stamens exserted, that is, they project beyond the tube of the corolla.

The genus Brugmansia is distinguished by its calyx being ventricose, and only two or three cleft; it is also strongly ribbed. The corolla is funnel-shaped, the tube being strongly ribbed; and the limb is five-lobed, the lobes being cuspidate, that is, drawn out into abrupt points. The flowers are drooping, and in Brugmansia suaveolens, formerly Datura arborea, they are very fragrant. The anthers grow together. The capsule is two-celled, smooth, and of a golden yellow, and the seeds are each covered with a thick corky skin. In Solandra, a nearly allied genus, the calyx bursts on one side, and the lobes of the corolla are not cuspidate, but rounded and fringed. The stamens also project beyond the mouth of the corolla, and the capsule is four-celled. The species of Solandra are all stove-trees.

TRIBE III.—VERBASCINEÆ.

The plants included in this division differ from those in the preceding ones, in not having the corolla plaited in the bud, and in having the anthers only one-celled; distinctions which have been thought of sufficient importance to induce many botanists to make this tribe a separate order.

The British plant sometimes called the Shepherd’s Club, and sometimes the common Mullein or Flannel flower (Verbascum Thapsus), is a familiar example of this genus. In this plant the flower is rotate, or wheel-shaped, and divided into five rather unequal lobes. The calyx is five-cleft; and it possesses such a power of collapsing over the ovary, that when the stem of the plant is struck sharply with a hard substance, every open flower is forced off by the sudden closing of its calyx. There are five stamens, the filaments of which are bearded, and the anthers crescent-shaped; and a capsule, the two cells of which frequently run into one, and which opens by two valves at the apex. The flowers are crowded together in a thick spike-like raceme, which bears no small resemblance to a club. This plant was formerly supposed to be efficacious in driving away evil spirits; and hence it was called Hag’s-taper, now corrupted to High-taper. The whole plant is mucilaginous, and a decoction of it is often given to cattle when they are suffering under pulmonary complaints; and hence is derived another of its names, Cow’s Lungwort. The leaves are thick, and woolly on both sides; and they are decurrent, that is, running down the stem, like little wings on each side.

Celsia differs from Verbascum botanically in having only four perfect stamens, two of which are shorter than the others. The racemes are also much more loose, from the flowers being on rather long pedicels. Most of the species composing this genus were formerly included in Verbascum. Ramonda is another genus, which consists only of the Verbascum Myconi of LinnÆus.

TRIBE IV.—NOLANEÆ.

This tribe, which is now made a distinct order by Dr. Lindley, is principally known by the genus Nolana; the species of which are annual plants, natives of Chili and Peru, which have lately been much cultivated in British gardens. The flowers of Nolana atriplicifolia, one of the commonest kinds, very much resemble those of the common Convolvulus tricolor, and the leaves are large and juicy like those of spinach. On opening the corolla there will be found to be five stamens, surrounding four or five ovaries, which are crowded together on a fleshy ring-like disk. These ovaries, when ripe, become as many drupes, enclosing each a three or four celled nut or bony putamen, which is marked with three or more grooves on the outside, and has three or more little holes beneath. All the species of Nolana have the same peculiarities in their seed-vessels, though they differ in many other respects. In the same tribe or order are included two other genera, one of which, called Grabowskia, contains only the singular shrub formerly called Lycium boerhaviÆfolium, or Ehretia halimifolia, the nuts of which resemble those of the Coffee.

Besides the plants contained in these four tribes, there are several other genera which some botanists place in SolanaceÆ, and others in ScrophularineÆ; and among these may be mentioned Franciscea, Browallia, and Anthocercis. In the former of these genera the flowers are small, the corolla is salver-shaped, and the calyx, which is permanent, is inflated and smooth. In Browallia, the calyx is strongly ten-ribbed, and the corolla has an oblique limb; and in both genera there are only four stamens, two of which are longer than the others. In Anthocercis there are four perfect stamens and the rudiments of a fifth. The corolla is not folded in the bud, but has a regular, star-like limb.