SOLANUM, NIGHTSHADE, comprehending the love-apple and potato; a genus of the monogynia order, belonging to the pentandria class of plants. There are 30 species; the most remarkable of which are, 1. The lycopersicon, wolf's peach, love-apple, or tomentos, rises with strong herbaceous procumbent stalks branching out to the length of six or eight feet with large pinnated, rank-scented leaves, with four or five pairs of cut lobes, and simple racemous clusters of small yellow flowers at the axillas, succeeded by large compressed roundish furrowed fruit, of a red colour and soft. The varieties are, the common large love-apple, with furrowed fruit; the cherry-fruited love-apple, having smooth round fruit of a red colour, the size of large cherries; yellow cherry-fruited; scentless-leaved; and burnet-leaved. It is a native of the hot parts of America. 2. The nigrum, or common black nightshade, rises with upright herbaceous stalks, branching two or three feet high; oval, angular, indented leaves; and, from the sides of the branches, roundish nodding umbels of white flowers succeeded by black and other coloured berries in the varieties. 3. The dulcamara, bitter sweet, or climbing woody nightshade, rises with long flexuous, inermous, woody stalks, climbing by support many feet high; oblong, pointed leaves, with the upper ones halbert-shaped; and cymose clusters of small blue flowers, succeeded by bunches of small, oval, red berries. The varieties are, the white flowered; the variegated white striped leaved; gold striped leaved; the African thick leaved, formerly considered as a distinct species, but now found to be only a variety of this. 4. The tuberosum, tuberous-rooted, Peruvian nightshade, commonly called po-
tato. This hath a tuberous root, emitting numerous fibres, productive of many roundish and oblongish fleshy, edible tubers. Immediately from the root rise herbaceous, flexuose, smooth stalks, somewhat erect, a yard long, garnished with large pinnated leaves, of several pair of entire lobes, and terminated by subdivided peduncles supporting bunches of small purple or white flowers in the different varieties, and succeeded by ripe seed in autumn. This species comprehends two principal varieties, viz. the red-rooted potato with white flowers, and the white-rooted potato with white flowers. Each of these comprehends several intermediate ones, such as the round red, oblong red, pale red, rough red, smooth red, red and white, early dwarf red, kidney-shaped white potato, round white, large oblong white, large red-ended white kidney shaped; large conglomerated American potato, being generally clustered together considerably, each root or tuber attaining a prodigious large size, and principally in estimation for feeding of cattle.
Culture. The first species, though a native of hot climates, will succeed here in the open air in summer, being previously raised in hot-beds, and thence transplanted. As it is a trailing plant, it should be well supported by walls, pales, or stakes, and should also have a sunny situation, or the fruit will not ripen. The common black nightshade grows wild in gardens, fields, and dunghills, in this country; and becoming a troublesome weed, is rarely cultivated. The dulcamara is also hardy, and will succeed any where; excepting the African thick-leaved kind, which requires to be potted, and treated as a green-house plant. It is propagated by layers and cuttings.—The method of cultivating and managing potatoes is mentioned under the articles AGRICULTURE, n° 127—129, and POTATO.
Uses. The leaves of the deadly nightshade have been supposed discent and cooling when applied externally, and poisonous when taken inwardly. Of late it has been shown, that an infusion of half a grain, or a grain, of the dried leaves, may be taken with safety, and that afterwards the dose may by degrees be increased to five or six grains. They generally occasion some considerable evacuation, and sometimes, especially when taken in large doses, alarming disturbances in the nervous system; which, however, go off with the operation of the medicine. It was expected, that the great activity of this vegetable would make it very serviceable in many obstinate disorders; but this expectation has not been verified by experience, and the colleges both of London and Edinburgh have rejected these leaves from their materia medica. The twigs and roots of the dulcamara, or woody nightshade, have been recommended as deobstruents for resolving coagulated blood, &c. and are generally said to occasion some considerable evacuation by sweat, urine, or stool, particularly the latter. The fruit of the lycopersicon is of great estimation in Spain and Portugal for improving soups, also for stewing, sauces, &c. The uses of the potato as an esculent plant are well known.