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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SIV-SOU |
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SOLANACEAE , in botany, an order of Dicotyledons belonging to the sub-class Sympetalae (or Gamopetalae) and to the series Tubiflorae, containing 75 genera with about 1500 species, widely distributed through the tropics, but passing into the temperate zones. The chief
The plants are herbs, shrubs or small trees. Solanum nigrum, a common weed in waste places, is a low-growing annual herb; S. Dulcamara is an. irregularly climbing herb perennial by means of a widely creeping rhizome; ,4tropa Belladonna is a large perennial herb. The genus Solanum, to which belong more than half the number of species in the order, contains plants of very various habits including besides herbs, shrubs and trees. The leaves are generally alternate, but in the, flower-bearing parts of the stem are Ili in A. Datura Stramonium, B. Atropa Belladonna. I, II, III, Flowers
axis
axis
raised upon its axillary shoot as far as the next higher node., from which it appears to spring . In Atropa Belladonna (fig. I B) one of the branches at each node is undeveloped and there is a pair of unequal leaves; the smaller subtends the branch which has not developed, the larger has been carried up from the node below.An interesting anatomical feature is the presence in the stem of bicollateral bundlesthat is, the vascular bundles have phloem on the inside as well as on the outside of the xylem. The hermaphrodite, generally regular, flowers
0 Solanumthe arrow indicates Schizanthus-the arrow indicates the oblique symmetry of the the oblique symmetry. Two flower: stamens only are functional. corolla is regular and rotate as in Solanum (fig. 2), or bell-shaped as in Atropa, or somewhat irregular as in Hyoscyamus; in the tribe Salpiglossideae, which forms ' a link with the closely allied order Scrophulariaceae, it is zygomorphic, forming, e.g. as in Schizanthus (fig. 3), a two-lipped flower. The stamens are inserted on the corolla tube and alternate with its lobes; in zygomorphic flowers only 'two or four fertile stamens are present; the bilocular anthers open by slits or pores (fig. 4). The flowers are generally conspicuous and adapted to insect
axile placentas, sometimes few as in Cestrum, a large American genus with tubular flowers, species of which are grown in Britain as green- house
berry
capsule, as in Datura, where it splits lengthwise, and Hyoscyamus (fig. 6), where it opens by a transverse lid forming a pyxidium. The embryo is bent or straight and embedded in endosperm. The persistent calyx may serve to protect the fruit or aid in its distribution, as in the bladdery structure enveloping the fruit of Physalis or the prickly calyx of species of Solanum. The order is divided into 5' tribes; the division is based on the greater or less curvature of the embryo, the number of ovary cells and the regular or zygomorphic character of the flower. The great
berry
the warmer parts of North and South America, includes P. alkekengi, " winter cherry," and P. peruviana, " Cape gooseberry." Capsicum (q.v.) is widely cultivated for its fruit. which are the so-called chillies. Solanum contains 900 species, among which are S. tuberosum. (potato; q.v.), S. Lycopersicum (tomato; q.v.), and the two British species already mentioned. For Mandragora see MANDRAKE. To the tribe Datureae, characterized by a 4-celled ovary, belongs Datura; D. Stramonium (thorn apple), sometimes found as an escape in Britain, is officinal. Nicotiana, to which belong the tobacco plant (N. tabacum) and other cultivated species, and Petunia, are American genera belonging to the tribe Cestreae, in which the embryo is straight or only slightly bent, as it is also in the tribe Salpiglossideae, which is characterized by the zygomorphy of the flowers; Salpiglossis and Schizanthus are known in cultivation. End of Article: SOLANACEAE If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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