v.] REMARKABLE LEAVES. 79 



ing in Kew Gardens, where also will be found speci- 

 mens of everything that is wonderful or beautiful in 

 the vegetable world. 



There is a remarkable genus of tropical plants, 

 which are also entitled to rank as Pitcher-plants, 

 though they are not so called. We allude to the 

 Tillandsias, or Tree-pines, which grow abundantly 

 over the trees of Southern and Central America and 

 the West Indies. Their leaves are dilated at the 

 base into a cavity capable of containing more than 

 a pint of fluid. From the channelled form of their 

 leaves they catch large quantities of rain and dew 

 which run into the basal cavity. Thirsty travellers 

 are often thankful for the store of cool water thus 

 retained for their use, even though it does sometimes 

 contain a few dead insects, overtaken, doubtless, in 

 their cups. A remarkable thing about this Tillandsia 

 is, that its reservoirs afford a habitat for a water- 

 plant, a species of Bladderwort (Utricularid]^ which 

 is found nowhere else but in the leaves of the Tree- 

 pine. The Bladderwort throws out runners which 

 seek the nearest neighbouring leaf of Tillandsia, 

 and there form a new plant, which sends out more 

 runners, and in this way a number of Tillandsias are 

 sometimes seen connected. 



We cannot boast, among the botanical productions 

 of our own country, the possession of a genuine 

 Pitcher-plant ; but that is no reason why we should 

 not make the most of what we have. In the com- 

 mon Teazle (Dipsacus sylvestris) we have our nearest 

 approach to a pitcher. The opposite leaves are 

 united at their bases, and thus form a sort of basin 



