104 TENDRIL-BEARERS. Chap. Ill 



hour afterwards making an angle of 106. The two 

 opposite petioles do not move together, and one is 

 sometimes so much raised as to stand close to the stem, 

 whilst the other is not far from horizontal. The basal 

 part of the petiole moves less than the distal part. The 

 tendrils, besides being carried by the moving petioles 

 and internodes, themselves move spontaneously ; and 

 the opposite tendrils occasionally move in o23posite 

 directions. By these combined movements of the 

 young internodes, petioles, and tendrils, a considerable 

 space is swept in search of a support. 



In young plants the tendrils are about three inches 

 in length : they bear two lateral and two terminal 

 branches ; and each branch bifurcates twice, with the 

 tips terminating in blunt double hooks, having both 

 points directed to the same side. All the branches are 

 sensitive on all sides ; and after being lightly rubbed, 

 or after coming into contact with a stick, bend in 

 about 10 m. One which had become curved in 10 m. 

 after a light rub, continued bending for between 3 hrs. 

 and 4 hrs., and became straight again in 8 hrs. or 

 9 hrs. Tendrils, which have caught nothing, ultimately 

 contract into an irregular spire, as they likewise do, 

 only much more quickly, after clasping a support. In 

 both cases the main petiole bearing the leaflets, which 

 is at first straight and inclined a little upwards, 

 moves downwards, with the middle part bent abruptly 

 into a right angle ; but this is seen in E. miniatus 

 more plainly than in E. scaler. The tendrils in this 

 genus act in some respects like those of Bignonia 



