MONADELPH1A. 



ORDER II. PENTANDRIA. Stamens 5. 

 GENUS Passiflora. Passion Flower. Fig- 



Thus called because the anthers are so fix- 

 ed to the filaments as to represent a cross, 

 the emblem of Christ's passion. This is a 

 beautiful genus of climbing plants, a part 

 of them herbaceous and a part woody. 

 There are nearly fifty species growing in 

 England, not one of which, however, is a 

 native of that country. Several are from 

 America, but the greatest number from the 

 West Indies. Several species and varie- 

 ties are cultivated in the hot houses of this 

 country, and few flowers are more striking in appearance, or 

 really more beautiful. Several of the species bear fruit,which 

 is highly delicious. The Sweet Calabash, (Passiflora mali- 

 formis,) of the West Indies, is one of these species. The 

 flowers are large, and the colors, red, white, and blue, in 

 rings, as is usual in this genus. The fruit is of the size of a 

 large apple, yellow when ripe, with rind enclosing a sweet 

 pulp, with many seeds of a brownish color. This is served 

 up in deserts, and is highly esteemed. The common species, 

 (Passiflora carulea,) is one of the most elegant of this tribe 

 In its native country, (South America,) it has a woody stem, 

 of the size of a man's arm, and climbs to a great height. 

 Leaves palmate, five parted, and entire ; involucre three leaved. 

 Flower, composed of petals, which are white, and nec- 

 taries, or crown, consisting of long threads within the petals, 

 and colored purple and blue. These are not so long as the 

 petals, (see the figure.) The pistils and stamens present a 

 contrast of various colors. The fruit is egg-shaped, but is 

 not agreeable to the taste. The species lutea and incarnata 

 are natives of North America. 



ORDER III. HEPTANDRIA. Stamens 7. 



GENUS Pelargonium. Stork's bill. Name from pelargos, a 

 stork, in allusion to the beak of the fruit, which is thought 

 to resemble the bill of that bird. This genus formerly made 

 a part of the Linnaean genus Geranium, or Crane's bill, from 

 which its species have been detached, forming by themselves, 

 a vast and favored tribe of green-house plants. The small 



Why is the passion flower so called ? What is said of the passion 

 flower genus ? How does the genus Pelargonium obtain its name ? 

 15 



