NATURE OF TENDRILS 



301 



the absence of stipules in monocotyledons makes their 

 homology with these organs doubtful ; Goebel regards them 

 as outgrowths of the leaf base, of a unique character (Fig. 45). 

 In Capparis adunca, the simple tendrils, springing from 

 the leaf axils, are to be regarded as flower stalks ; in Adenia 

 the tendrils, occupying a similar position, are branched, and 



FxG. 45. — Leaf tendrils: i, Gloriosa ; 2, Tropacolum ; 3, Smilax ; 4, 



Lathyrus. All J nat. size. 



are modified inflorescences (Fig. 44). In the Cucurbitaceae 

 (Lagenaria, Cucurbita, Bryonia, etc.) and the Vitaceae (Vitis 

 and Ampelopsis) the nature of the tendrils is more obscure. 

 In the vines the tendril arises opposite to a leaf, in the 

 bryony at the side of a leaf. Goebel holds that in the vines 

 the tendril is a modified shoot ; in the Cucurbitaceae it is 



