VioLALES.] PASSIFLORACE^. 333 



taken for petals ai'e nothing but innei' divisions of the calyx, usually in a coloured state, 

 and wanting in several species ;" and, therefore, in the judgment of that venei*able 

 Botanist, the Order is apetalous. De CandoUe adopts the same view of the natui'e of 

 the floral envelopes as Jussieu ; but he nevertheless considers the Order polypetalous ; 

 a conclusion which I confess myself unable to understand, upon the supposition of the 

 inner series of floral envelopes being calyx. Other Botanists, and I think with justice, 

 consider the outer series of the floral envelopes as the calyx, and the inner as the 

 corolla, for two principal reasons. In the first place, they have the ordinary position 

 and appearance of calyx and corolla, the outer being green, and the inner coloured ; 

 and, in the second place, there is no essential difference between the calyx and corolla, 

 except the one being the outer, and the other the inner of the floral envelopes. And if 

 the real nature of these parts is to be determmed by analogy, an opinion in which I do 

 not, however, concur, the great affinity, as I think, of the Order with Violetworts would 

 confirm the idea of its being polypetalous rather than apetalous. The nature of the 

 filamentous appendages, or coronet, or rays as they are called, wliich proceed from the 

 orifice of the tube, and of the membi*anous or fleshy, entu-e or lobed, flat or plaited, 

 annular processes which He between the petals and the stamens, is ambiguous. I am 

 disposed to refer them to a pecuhar form of petals, rather than to the stamens, for the 

 reasons which I have assigned m the Hort. Trans, vol. 6, p. 309, for understandmg the 

 normal metamorphosis of the parts of fructification to be centripetal. There can, at 

 least, be no doubt of theu' bemg of an intermediate nature between petals and stamens. 

 With regard to the affinity of Passionworts, Jussieu, swayed by the opinion he enter- 

 tained of theu" being apetalous, and De Candolle, who partly agreed and partly disagreed 

 with Jussieu ua his view of their structm'e, both assigned the Order a place near 

 Cucui'bits, and there can be doubt that Cucurbits are really Uttle more than Passionworts 

 with separate sexes and inferior finiit ; but when we consider the stipitate fruit, 

 occasionally vah^ular, the parietal placentae, the sometimes ii-regular flowers, the 

 stipulate leaves, and the climbmg habit of these plants, it is difficult not to admit theii* 

 gi-eater affinity \vith Capparids or Violetworts, the dilated disk of the former of wliich 

 is probably analogous to the innermost of the annular processes of Passiflora. That 

 the fleshy covermg of the seeds in this Order is a real aril, is clear from the seeds of a 

 capsular species nearly related to P. capsularis, a di'awing of which, by Ferdinand 

 Bauer, exists in the Library of the Horticultural Society. In this plant the apex of the 

 sculptured testa is uncovered by the aril. Smeathmamiia forms a connecting link 

 between Passionworts and Samyds. 



Crownworts (Malesherbiacese) are perhaps not very distmct ; their differences, such 

 as they are, are noticed in the proper place. Passionflowers are the pride of South 

 America and the "West Indies, where the woods are filled with theii* species, which 

 chmb about from ti-ee to tree, bearing at one time flowers of the most strikmg beauty, 

 and of so singular an appearance, that the zealous Cathohcs who discovered them, 

 adapted Clmstian traditions to those mliabitants of the South American wilderness ; 

 and at other times fruit, tempting to the eye and refreshing to the palate. One or two 

 extend northwards into North America. Sevei'al are found m Africa and the 

 neighbom'ing islands ; and a few in the East Indies, 



As far as we have any knowledge of the uses of these plants they appear, notwith- 

 standing theii' eatable fruit, to possess active and rather dangerous qualities. Passiflora 

 quadrangularis, whose fruit is the great Granadilla sometimes seen in our hot-houses, 

 has an emetic root (Martius), and is powerfully narcotic, on which account it is said by 

 Mr. Bm-nett, on the authority of a French wi-iter, to be cultivated in several French settle- 

 ments for the sake of its root. It is said to owe its activity to a peculiar principle 

 called Passiflorine. P. Contrayerva is said to be alexipharmic and carmuiative. 

 Accordmg to Browne, a tmcture of the flowers of P. rubra, formed by infusion 

 in wine or spirits, is used in the leeward parts of Jamaica, under the name of 

 Dutchman's Laudanum, as a safe narcotic. P. foetida, and some allied species, are 

 esteemed as emmenagogues, and are thought to be serviceable in hysteria ; the infusion 

 of the flowers is also taken as a pectoral medicine in the West Indies. The foliage is 

 used m Brazil in poultices, against erysipelas and inflammatory affections of the skin. 

 The bitter and astringent leaves of P. laui'ifolia have some reputation as anthehnin- 

 tics. P. palUda, maliformis, and mcarnata are employed in cases of intermittent 

 fevers. Murucuja ocellata, a West Indian cUmber, is said to be anthelmintic, diapho- 

 retic, and antihysteric. Among the species whose fruit is eaten, the most important 

 are Passiflora filamentosa, paUida, lutea, coccinea, malifoi-mis, laurifolia, eduhs, 

 incarnata, and serrata, Tacsonia molUsima, tripartita and speciosa, and the Madagascar 

 shrub called Paropsia edulis. 



