Chap. H. LEAF-CLIMBERS. 45 



CHAPTEK II. 



Leaf-Climbers. 



Plants which climb hy the aid of spontaneously revolving and sensitive 

 petioles Clematis Tropxolum Maurandia, flower-peduncles 

 moving spontaneously and sensitive to a touch Rhodochiton 

 Loplwspermum internodes sensitive Solatium, thickening of 

 the clasped petioles Fumaria Adlumia Plants which climb hy 

 the aid of their produced midribs Gloriosa Flagellar ia 

 Nepenthes Summary on leaf-climbers. 



We now come to our second class of climbing plants, 

 namely, those which ascend by the aid of irritable or 

 sensitive organs. For convenience' sake the plants 

 in this class have been grouped under two sub-divisions, 

 namely, leaf-climbers, or those which retain their 

 leaves in a functional condition, and tendril-bearers. 

 But these sub-divisions graduate into each other, as 

 we shall see under Corydalis and the Gloriosa lily. 



It has long been observed that several plants climb 

 by the aid of their leaves, either by their petioles (foot- 

 stalks) or by their produced midribs ; but beyond this 

 simple fact they have not been described. Palm and 

 Mohl class these plants with those which bear tendrils ; 

 but as a leaf is generally a defined object, the present 

 classification, though artificial, has at least some advan- 

 tages. Leaf-climbers are, moreover, intermediate in 

 many respects between twiners and tendril-bearers. 

 Eight species of Clematis and seven of Tropseolum were 



