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.
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, 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.