LVIII. BEGONIACEiE. 369 



or nearly so, terminal ; pet. broadly obovate, very abruptly acuminate ; filaments 

 filiform, and, with the seeds, numerous. — (I) Native of California. Stems decum- 

 bent, branching, 1 — 3f in length, with golden yellow flowers 2 — 3 inches in 

 diameter, the beauty of which is greatly heightened by the innumerable thread- 

 like, yellow stamens. 



2. M. OLIGOSPERMA. Nutt. 



Very rough with barbed hairs; st. dichotomous; Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, 

 tapering to very short petioles, lobed or incisely dentate ; pet. entire, cuspidate, 

 expanding in sunshine ; sta. 20 or more, shorter than the petals ; caps. 3 — 5- 

 celled. — % Dry or rocky places. Pike Co., 111., Mead, and Mo. to Tex. Root 

 tuberous. Stems If high, divaricately branched. Leaves 10 — 15" by 6 — 8", 

 upper ovate. Flowers solitary, of a deep, golden yellow, 8 — 10" diam., very 

 fugacious. Capsule cylindric, very small. May — jl. 



Order LVII. PASSIFLORACE^.— Passionworts. 



Plants herbaceous or shrubby, usually climbing. Lvs. tilternate, often glandular. Slip, foliaceous. 

 Fls. axillar>- or terminal, often with a 3-leaved involucre. 



C'a/.— Sepals 4—5, united below into a tube, the sides and throat of which are lined with a ring of fila- 

 mentous processes, which appear to be metamorphosed petals. 

 Cor. — Petals 5, arising from the throat of the calyx outside the crown. 

 Sta. 5, monadelphous, surrounding the stipe of the ovary. 

 Ova. superior, on a long stipe, 1-ceHed. Styles 3. 

 Pr. stalked, within the caly.x, many-seeded. 



Genera 12, species 210, natives of tropical America, but cultivated in many other countries as ornamen- 

 tal flowers. The fruit of the Granadilla (Passiflora multiformis) is eaten in the AV. Indies, and highly 

 valued as a dessert, but the root is poisonous. 



PASSIFLORA. ru =, • , 



[the .Savior's passion. 

 Lat. ^os passionis; the several parts of the flower were superstitiously compared to the instruments of 



Calyx colored, deeply 5-parted, the throat with a complex, filamen- 

 tous crown ; petals 5, sometimes ; stamens 5, connate with the stipe 

 of the ovary ; anthers large ; stigmas 3, large, clavate, capitate ; fruit 

 a pulpy berry. — Climbing herbs or shrubs. 



1. P. ccERULEA. Common Passion-floiver. — Shrubby; Zi-s. palmately and deeply 

 5-parted; segments linear-oblong, entire, lateral ones often 2-lobed; _pe<. glandu- 

 lar, with a 3-bracteolate involucre near the flower ; bracteoles entire ; fit. of the 

 crown shorter than the corolla. — Native of Brazil, where it grows to the thick- 

 ness of a man's arm and the height of 30f. Flowers large and beautiful, blue 

 externally, white and purple within, continuing but one day. Fruit ovoid, yel- 

 low. Admired in cultivation. 



2. P. iNCARNATA. Flesh-coloTcd Passion-flo^cer. 



Lvs. deeply 3-lobed, lobes oblong, acute, serrate ; petioks with 2 glands 

 near the summit; b^racieoles of the involncre 3, ohovale, glandular; crow «, triple. — 

 Native from Va. to Flor. Stem climbing 20— 30f Flowers large and showy. 

 Petals white. Two outer rows of filaments long, purple, with a whitish band, 

 the inner row of short rays, flesh-colored. Berry pale yellow, of the size of an 

 apple, eatable. May — July. 



3. P. LUTEA. Yelloio Passionflower. 



Lvs. glabrous, cordate, 3-lobed, obtuse ; petioles without glands ; pcd. mostly 

 in pairs ; pet. narrower and much longer than the sepals. — A slender climber, 

 5 — lOf long, in woods and thickets, Ohio and S. States. Leaves yellowish- 

 green, nearly as broad as long. Flowers small, greenish-yellow. Corona in 3 

 rows, the inner row a membranous disk with a fringed border. Fruit dark- 

 purple. May — Jl. 



Order LVIII. BEGONIACE^.— Begoniads. 



Herbaceous plants, or succulent undershrubs, with an acid juice. 



I.vs. alternate, toothed, rarely entire, oblique at the base. Stipules large, scarious. 



Fls. pink-coloredj in cymes, moncecious or dinjcious. Cal. adherent, colored. . [pistillate. 



Sep. in the stammate 2, in the pistillate 3 or 4. Pet. smaller than sepals, 2 in the staminate, 2 or 4 in the 



Sta. (stam. fls.) indefinite, distinct or combined. Anth. collected into a head, 2-celled. 



