a genus of plants belonging to the tetrandria clas. See BOTANY Index. This plant is called Solanides by Tournefort, and Pierreza by Miller. There are four species which grow naturally in most of the islands of the West Indies. The juice of the berries of one species will stain paper and linen of a bright red colour, and many experiments made with it to colour flowers have succeeded extremely well in the following manner: the juice of the berries was pressed out, and mixed with common water, putting it into a phial, shaking it well together for some time, till the water was thoroughly tinged; then the flowers, which were white and just fully blown, were cut off, and their stalks placed into the phial; and in one night the flowers have been finely variegated with red; the flowers on which the experiments were made were the tuberose, and the double white narcissus.