Page:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 2.djvu/89

ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY.

39 On this subject almost nothing is known, the fruit of some species of Passiflora are edible and the succulent juicy pulp which surround the seed is cooling and pleasant to the taste. The root of one species, P. quadrangular is, is said to be powerfully narcotic, a dose of the infusion, administered to a dog, having killed him in 40 minutes after its admiqistration and almost immediately knocked him down, as if struck with apoplexy. Little however seems known of it beyond that experiment, as it does not seem to have been employed as a remedial a^ent in the cure of disease. I have no where heard that our species of Modecca, have been applied to any useful purpose.

There being but two genera, so far as yet known, natives of the Peninsula, and these containing between them only three species, all of which I have figured in the {cones, it seems unnecessary to devote space to them here. The one repre- sented here, for the figure of which I am indebted to the elegant pencil of Mrs. Walker, was found in Ceylon, where it was supposed a native and a new species, I have, as already stated, seen reason to fear is not a native but an introduced plant, as it accords in almost every parti- cular wi'h the characters of both P. minima and suberosa especially the latter, a figure of which in Smith's Exotic Botany 1 have seen, except in I he smaller size of its fruit. The following description is taken from a plant growing in the Horticultural Society's Garden at Bangalore.

Passiflora Walkerii (R. W. P. minima? Jacq. P. su- berosa '? Lin.) A small climbling plant, leaves ovate 3 or slightly 5-nerved, the exterior pair much smaller, en- tire or somewhat thre j -lobed, the middle lobe the largest, succulent, glabrous, without glands ; p j tiols shorter than the leaves, with two prominent glands near the apex ; tendrils simple : peduncles twin, axillary, simple, one-flowered, jointed about the middle and furnished with two minute caducous subulate bracteas at the j >int; no involucrum : calyx 5-cleft, inner series wanting, coro- nal appendages in four series, first, the inner one a brown ring— 2-a plaited lobed membrane the margin of the lobes ciliated, 3 a circle of erect capitulate tilaments — and lastly — the petaloid series consisting of a ring of spathu-

late filaments reflexed and redish at the apex purple to- wards the base. Fruit a small purple berry with several rough seed enveloped in sweet pulp.

I cannot feel certain that the plant described is iden- tical with the one figured, but trust that the minuteness of the above description aided by the figure will enable any Ceylon Botani-t, who may meet with the plant, to determine that point. For figures of the continental species of this order, see Icones— No. 3D, 179, 201.

The analysis figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are taken from P. laurifolia, and were made by Rungiah. The figure of the plant and section of the fruit No. 7i I owe to the kindness of Mrs. Waiker.

Passiflora Walkeri (R. W. P. suberosa ? Jacq )

1. A flowering branch, natural size.

2. Stamens, podocarp and ovary.

3. Anthers.

4. Transverse section of the tube of the calyx, showing the free curtaiu-like extremity of the torus {?) em-

bracing the podocarp and cutting off all communication between the upper and lower portions of the tube.

5. Ovary cut vertically.

6. Cut transvi rsely, one-celled, with three parietal placentas.

7. Transverse section of the mature fruit.

In our Prodromus these orders are viewed as quite distinct and not even ranged in a consecutive series. In this course we followed DeCandolIe, and, according to my present ideas oil the subject, allowed ourselves to be misled by that high authority on all matters relating to affinities of Plants.

These three orders in common with Caryop/iy/leae, (already treated of) Chenopodiaceae P/iyt.olucceae, Polygoneae, and five or six others are connected by one common link, namely, by having the Embryo applied to the side of, or, more commonly, curved round a mealy albumen. The orders associated by this seminal structure, though often apparently, widely separated by characters taken from the flower, are yet, all so intimately blended in their several relation- ships, that no two Botanists seem agreed either as to the genera referable to each, or as to the orders among which they should be grouped as their nearest allies. Guided by this clue to