FLOKA OF TlIE ISTHilUS OF PANAMA. 129 
PASSIFLORACEyE. 
All botanists consider TurneracecB aud Fassijloracece as allied to each other, but few seem to be 
aware that these Orders are so closely related as they really are, that tJie differences between them are 
merely imagiuary, that in fact they constitute one and the same natural family of plants. I was led to this 
conclusion by the discovery of the American genus ErllicliM, Seem., — figured in Plate XXVII. of this 
work, — and by subsequent examination of several Turncrace<s. 
All Turneracece are described in systematic works as '* Herbaceous plants, having sometimes a ten- 
dency to become shrubby." This description however applies to only a few Turneras ; T. salicifolia, St. 
Hii. {T. Jlimhiana, Benth. ! Corcliorus gramJiforiis, Spring!) is a real shrub from G to 8 feet high, and 
Erhliclda odorata. Seem., is a good-sized tree, often attaining a height of 30 feet and more. The leaves are 
said to be exstipuiate, — another nusstateuieut, as all TunicnicecB have stipules. In Turnera ulmifoVw, Linn., 
—a common hot-house plant, from whiph most authors seem to have solely derived their knowledge of tliia 
group, — they are, on acconnt of the hairy covering of the stem, hardly visible, but in the more ghbrous 
species, such as T. salicifolia^ St, Hil., they are plainly to be seen, and in Erhlichia odorata, Seem., they are 
still more manifest. The calj-x is, in Turnera tiwd. Piriqueta, monophyllous, in J?rt7i'cftier pentaphyllous. 
The latter is doubtless the normal state of the calyx of the Order, for if the calj-x of the two former is exar 
mined, it will be found that its lobes are in fact true sepals, traceable to the very base, aud but slightly 
connected with each other. The petals and stamens arc stated to be inserted into the tube of the calyx, 
but if examined closely they will be found, although attached to the calyx, to be traceable to the stalk of 
the ovary. In ErhJicliia, which has no calycinal tube, and where the petals and stamens are free to their 
very basis, this mode of insertion becomeB still more apparent. Indeed if the insertion was different from 
what I have stated it to be, we should have to remove TurneracecB from their hypogynous alliances, where 
they now stand, and place them among the perigynous orders, with which they seem to have no connection, — 
a chanf^e which those who follow the views of Lindley, as laid down in his * Vegetable Kingdom,' would be 
compelled by logic to adopt. The petals of Turnera and Piriqueta are without appendices, but those of 
ErUiclda are furnished at their base with filamentous processes, analogous to the corona of the true Pas- 
sion-flowers. The stigmas of Piriqueta and Turnera are more or less flabellate ; those of ErlUchia, 
although having a tendency to become so, are capitate, aud merely fimbriated on the margin ; while it 
must be borne in mind that the stigmas of several Passijloraeece have a tendency to become divided, and 
occasionally bilobed. 
TtirneracecB then are intimately connected with Passijlorew, especially with the tribe Paropsiew. . The 
connecting link between them appears to be ErhJicliia, one of those peculiar genera, the discovery of which 
will always produce great changes. As no other points of difiereuce, besides those ab^ady disposed of, 
seem to exist between the two Orders, I have no hesitation in uniting TurncracecE and Pas-vforeai into one 
Natural Family, adopting the name Passijloracea for both. 
It is evident that the discovery oi Erhlichia, and the consequent union of Turneraceee and Pa^siforae, 
throw a new light upon several disputable points regarding the floral envelope of the latter, and strengthens 
the views of Lindley, who regards the outer floral envelopes as calyx, the inner as corolla, and the corona 
as a peculiar kind of petals. 
418. Passifloha cirrhijlora, Juss., Be Cand. Prodr. vol. iii. p. 323. Volcano of Chiriqui, Ve- 
ra«^uas; also collected by Goudot in the southern parts of New Granada. 
4-19. Passi^'lora hoJosericea, Linn., De Cand. Prodr. vol. iii. p. 323. Volcano of Chiriqui, 
Veraguas. - * • 
450. Passiflora puhescens, ILB.K., Dc Cund. Prodi-, vol.. iii. p. 321. Dark forests about 
San Lorenzo, Province of Vcragnas. ■ - 
