154 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. 



small, loiig-peduiicleJ, dark purple and yellow. March-May. Com- 

 iiiou in dry, cultivated ground. Very similar to the cultivated 

 Pansy, but much smaller. 



83. PASSIFL0RACE;E. PASSION-FLOWER FAMILY. 



Shrubs or herbs, climbing by axillary tendrils ; leaves 

 alternate, simple, mostly 3-lobed ; flowers axillary, on jointed 

 peduncles, solitary or few together, perfect, regular, often 

 showy ; calyx tube 4-5-lobed, persistent ; petals usually 5, 

 inserted on the throat of the calyx tube which is fringed 

 with a crown of 1-3 rows of long and slender filaments ; 

 stamens 5, their filaments united, and enclosing the stipe of 

 the ovary ; styles 1-5, ovary with 3-5 parietal placentae ; 

 seeds numerous, fruit fleshy. 



PASSIFLORA. 



Characters of the family. 



1. P. iNCARNATA L. Passion-flower. Perennial; stem often 

 20-30 ft. long, somewhat angled or striate, smooth below, pubes- 

 cent above; leaves broadly cordate, palmately 3-5-lobed, the lobes 

 acute, finely serrate, usually cordate at the base ; petiole bearing 2 

 oval glands near its summit; flowers 2-3 in. wide, solitary; pedun- 

 cles 3-bracted, longer than the petioles ; calyx lobes with a small 

 horn-like appendage on the back near the apex, white within ; petals 

 and crown pm-ple and white ; fruit yellow, about the size and shape 

 of a hen's egg, edible ; seeds with a pulpy aril. May-July. Common 

 along fence rows and embankments. 



2. P. LUTEA L. Yellow Passion-flower. Perennial; stem 

 slender, glabrous, 6-10 ft. long; leaves broadly cordate, 3-lobed at 

 the summit, entire, often mucronate; stipules small; petioles with- 

 out glands; peduncles longer than the leaves, usually in pairs; 

 flowers greenish-yellow, i-| in. wide ; fruit purple, oval, ^ in. long. 

 May-July. Woods and thickets. 



84. CACTACEiE. CACTUS FAMILY. 



Succulent shrubs ; stems globose, flattened or terete, ridged 

 and tubercled, often jointed and usually spiny ; leaves none, 



