CHAP. LXXXIV.

XOLANA'CEjE. A’OLA'NUM.

1267

p. 409.) A climbing shrub, a native of Europe , Asia, and North America ,in hedges and among bushes; plentiful in Britain ; flowers in June and July.

Varieties.

S. D. 1 yiolacea Hort. Eyst., p. 385. t. 384. No. 3. — Corollas violet..1 S. D. 2 alba Lin. FI. Suec. , p. 66. — Corollas white. There areplants of this variety in the collection of Messrs. Loddiges.

1 S. D. 3 carnea Cels. Ups., 32.— Corollas flesh-coloured.

S. D. 4 plena Tourn. Inst., 149., Ilort. Evst., 1. c. — Corollas double.1 S. D. 5 variegata Munt., fig. 156., Tourn. Inst., 149., Lodd. Cat. , ed.1836.— Leaves variegated.

1 S. 1). 6 hirsuta Don’s Mill., iv. p. 409. ; S. littorale Hort. — Planthairy or downy. Flowers violet. Found on the sea coast. Thereare plants in Messrs. Loddiges’s collection.

1 S. D. 7 rupestris Schmidt FI. Bot., p. 69.— Stem erect. Leaves ovate,quite entire. Racemes few-flowered, dichotomous. A native of Bo­ hemia . ( Don’s Mill., iv. p. 409.)

Description, Properties, fyc. The stems of this species are roundish,branched, twisted, and climbing by elongation, among other shrubs, and inhedges, to the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft. or upwards. When bruised, broken, orrubbed, they yield a strong and peculiar odour, not unlike that which proceedsfrom rats and mice. The roots smell like potatoes; and both roots andstalks, upon being chewed, first cause a sensation of bitterness, which is soonfollowed by a considerable degree of sweetness, whence the specific name.The plant has been in repute for its medical virtues since the days of Theo­ phrastus , by whom it was called Fitis sylvestris; by Pliny , it was calledMelortum. Gerard, Boerhaave, Cullen, and others, attribute to the berries,and also to the leaves and stalks, many virtues; and the plant is still in greatrepute among rustic practitioners. In Wales a salve is made from the leaves,which is considered infallible in removing bruises. A decoction of the wholeplant, or an infusion of the young twigs, is considered excellent in rheumaticcases, and also in jaundice and scurvy. The berries are poisonous; and, asthey are common in hedges, they are very frequently eaten by children,on whom they operate by exciting violent vomiting and purging. To lessentheir deleterious effects, warm water should be administered immediately, andin large quantities, to dilute the poison, and provoke vomiting. To preventvomiting, when an infusion or decoction of the plant is taken medicinally, it isdiluted with milk. ( Smith's Eng. FL, i. p. 118.) Trained to a single stem, tothe height of 6 ft. or 8 ft., and supported by a strong iron rod, with a parasoltop, this common hedge weed might form a very handsome gardenesquependulous tree. The Acherontia A' tropos Fab., in its larva state (fig. 1081. inp. 1253.) feeds on the bitter-sweet and the elder, as well as on the commonwhite jasmine.

• 2. S. §uffrutico'sum Schousb . The suffruticose Nightshade.

Iintfjicatmn. Schousb. ex Wind. Enum., p. S36.; Dun. Sol., p. 154.; Syn., p. 13.; Don’s Mill., 4.

Sp e c. Char., SfC. Stem unarmed, suffVuticose. Leaves ovate, dentately angular, nearly glabrous,ciliated. Flowers subpanicled (ex Dun.). Umbels extra-foliaceous, pedunculate (ex Willd.).Branches 2-edged, or quadrangularly winged from the decurrence of the petioles. Angles toothed.Leaves large, glaucous, covered above with soft hairs while young. Flowers white. Berries black,very like S. nigrum ; but the stem is shrubby, the leaves larger, and the flowers more numerous,&c. ( Don's Mill., 4. p. 413.) A shrub, a native of Barbary, where it grows to the height of 4 ft., andflowers from May till September. It was introduced in 1804; but we have not seen the plant

» S- 3. S. cri'spum R. 8f S. The cav\e.A-leaved Solanum.

Identification. Roem. et Schult. Sp. PL, 4. p. 595.; FI. Peruv., 2. f. 1. 1.158. f. a.; Dunal Solan., 159. :

Syn. p. 16. No.78.: Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 1516.: Don’s Mill., 4. p. 414.

Engravings. Bot. Reg., 1.1516. ; and our„%.1105.

Spec. Char., $c. Stem shrubby. Leaves ovate, subcordate, wavedly curled,acuminate. Flowers corymbose. (Roem. ct Schult. Sp. PL, iv. p. 95.) Leavesall simple, undivided, ovate, or cordate, acuminate, petiolate, slightly curledat the margin ; younger leaves powdery, but full-grown ones green. Cymes

4 o 3