Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/160

 150 PASSION FLOWER at 240 m., and estimates the number of pigeons in it at more than 2,000,0(30,000. PASSION FLOWER (passiflora), a genus of plants so named because the early Spanish mis- sionaries regarded them as emblematic of the passion or crucifixion of Christ and its attend- ant circumstances. It contains about 120 spe- cies of mostly climbing, herbaceous, or woody plants, all of which, save a few in Asia and Australia, belong to the American continent, especially to the tropical portions. Five species are found in the Atlantic states, one extending as far north as Pennsylvania and Illinois. In some species the flowers are large and showy, and among the most brilliant of the occupants of our plant houses ; in others they are small and inconspicuous ; and in all the structure is striking and peculiar. The leaves in some are remarkable for their form or markings, several species being cultivated for their foliage only ; the leaves, generally alternate, are entire or variously lobed or parted, with petioles which are often furnished with glands, and with or without stipules; the tendrils by which the plants climb are rarely wanting, and, being mostly axillary, are regarded as abortive flower stalks, as it is not rare to find them bearing flower buds. The flowers are axillary and solitary, or in racemes, the flower stalk or pedicel usually bearing three leafy bracts em- bracing the base of the flower. The structure of the flower, which is much out of the ordi- nary way, will be best understood by aid of a longitudinal section, as given in the engraving. The calyx consists usually of five sepals, uni- ted below to form a short cup or tube ; the free expanded portion is colored like the petals within, or on the upper side, and often having on the outside, just below the tip, a small hook or claw. The petals are usually five, some- times wanting, attached to the throat of the calyx tube, and with them is inserted a series of thread-like processes in two or more rows, forming a compound fringe, called the crown or ray; to this the great beauty of most of these flowers is chiefly due, as aside from the unusual appearance it imparts, sometimes ex- tending beyond the petals, and again quite short, it is often beautifully colored and marked, frequently in contrast with the color of the rest of the flower; the real nature of these filaments has been much discussed, but Dr. M. T. Masters, who has given special study to the family, regards them as abortive stamens, a view confirmed by the structure in related gen- era. The stamens are of the same number as the calyx divisions and opposite them; their filaments are united below to form a tube sheathing, and more or less united to the stalk which supports the pistil, but distinct above, their free portions widely spreading and ter- minated by large oblong anthers hung by the middle. In the centre of the flower arises a stalk or column (gynophore), which is a pro- longation of the receptacle and bears at its apex the pistil, consisting of a one-celled ovary, with three club-shaped styles, terminated by large button-like stigmas. The fruit is a berry, with a more or less hard rind, pulpy within, and containing numerous seeds on three pari- etal placenta, each seed surrounded by a pulpy covering (arillua) ; the fruit in many species Passion Flower, longitudinal section. is edible. From this outline of the structure, the origin of the name passion flower will be understood; in the palmate leaves of the plant are seen the hands of Christ's persecutors, and in the conspicuous tendrils the scourges ; the ten parts of the flower envelope, calyx and corolla together, stand for the disciples, two of whom, Peter and Judas, were absent; the fringe represents the crown of thorns, or ac- cording to some the halo of glory ; the five an- thers are symbolic of the five wounds, and the three styles with their capitate stigmas stand for the nails, two for the hands and one for the feet, with which the body was nailed to the cross. The showiest of our native species, passiflora incarnata, is found as far north as Kentucky and Virginia, and is especially abun- 1. Seed surrounded by aril. 2. Transverse section of ovary. 3. Fruit. dant further south, where it often remains cultivated land as a weed; its stems, trailii on the ground or climbing upon corn and oth< crops, are regarded as troublesome; it has perennial root, and spreads widely by means < underground stems ; its leaves are three-clei