198 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



Chap V. 



common with plants, than is generally supposed to be 

 the case by those who have not attended to the subject. 

 I have given one remarkable instance, namely that of 

 the Maurandia semperflorens,ihe young flower-peduncles 

 of which spontaneously revolve in very small circles, 

 and bend when gently rubbed to the touched side; 

 yet this plant certainly does not profit by these two 

 feebly developed powers. A rigorous examination of 

 other young plants would probably show slight spon- 

 taneous movements in their stems, petioles or pe- 

 duncles, as well as sensitiveness to a touch.* We see 

 at least that the Maurandia might, by a little aug- 

 mentation of the powers which it already possesses, 

 come first to grasp a support by its flower-peduncles, 

 and then, by the abortion of some of its flowers (as with 

 Vitis or Cardiosj)ermum), acquire perfect tendrils. 



There is one other interesting point which deserves 

 notice. We have seen that some tendrils owe their 

 origin to modified leaves, and others to modified flower- 

 peduncles ; so that some are foliar and others axial 

 in their nature. It might therefore have been expected 

 that they would have presented some difference in 

 function. This is not the case. On the contrary, they 



* Such slight spontaneous 

 movements, I now find, have heen 

 for some time known to occur, 

 for instance with the flower-stems 

 Df Brassica naptcs and with the 

 leaves of many plants : Sachs' 

 Text-Book of ltotany' 1875, pp. 

 7G6, 785. Fritz Muller also has 



shown in relation toonr present sub- 

 ject ('Jenaischen Zeitschrift/ Bd. 

 V. Heft 2, p. 133) that the stems, 

 whilst young, of an Alisma find 

 of a Linum are continually 

 performing slight movements to 

 all points of the compass, like 

 those of climbing plants. 



