PLATE DXI.
S O L A N U M B E T A C E U M.
Beet-Uke Solanum.
CLASS V. ORDER L
PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Five Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA rotata. Antherae subcoalitae, apice
poris gemitiisj dehiscentes. Bacca bilocularis.
BLOSSOM wheel-shaped. Antherae nearly joined
together^ with holes in pairs "at the point,
and splitting. Berry two-locular.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
SoLANUM caule inermi, erecto, maculato, altissimo
: foliis radicalibus permagnis, foetidissimis:
corollis carneis, patentibus, ad
apicem sub-reflexis, qui cucullatus est.
Cavanilles Icones, voi. vi. 15. tal. 524.
NIGHTSHADE with an unarmed stem, upright,
spotted, and very tall. The radical leaves
are very large, and extremely fetid. Blossoms
flesh-coloured, spreading, and somewhat
reflexed at the point, which is hooded.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
J . The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3 . Seed-bud and pointal.
4 . A transverse section of the seed-bud magnified.
THIS gigantic plant is by far the largest species of Solanum at present known. Our figure represents
the upper part of a plant that was twelve feet high, and the only one that ever flowered in th^ kingdom,
in the collection of A. B. Lambert, esq. who informed me that the radical leaves measured fifteen
inches m breadth and twenty i„ leng.h. There is but one figure of it extant, and that is in the Icones
of Cavandles, who knew not whence it was indigenous: but it is supposed to be a native of South
America t thrives best against the shelter of a south wall in summer, but in winter requires the protection
of the greenhouse. We have seen two plants of it in the collection at Holland-house, the
enormous size ot whose foliage then indicated an equal magnitude with our plant when they arrive at a
flowering state At present it is ve^. scarce, and likely so to continue from the extreme fetidity of
the fohage. Upon burning a piece of the stalk, it displayed such a nitrous appearance as indicated it to
be very strongly impregnated with saltpetre.
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