268 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



hliiish blush and is an ini-h and a half or mure in diameter. It is peculiar 

 in being rose-seented and apricot flavored. Another species of Eugenia that 

 is an especially prolific bearer is known locally as Java plum.^-^ The tree grows 

 thirty or more feet in heiiiht and bears a wealth of black fruit the size of a small 

 pliun; they are quite conniion in gardens in the islands. The mynah birds are 

 fond of the fniit and may be seen carrying it alwut when it is in season. 

 Flying to the nearest house-top or fence post, they eat the flesh off allowing the 

 hard seed to fall and take root as it will. 



The Passion Flowers. 



Of the great order Fassi/ioracea' or passion flowers, a number of species are 

 in cultivation, some of them producing fruit of a remarkable ciuality. The pas- 

 sion flower ^^ proper, is a slender vine coming originally from Brazil. It is 

 perhaps the most common garden species. The leaves are deeply divided into 

 five segments, the lower two being sometimes again divided. The flowers are 

 three to four inches across and slightly fragrant. It is interesting to know that 

 the Spanish, when they found this flower growing in the South American forests, 

 took it as a token that the Indians should be converted to Christianity. They 

 saw in its several parts the emblems of the passion of our Lord, hence the flos 

 passion is was described as early as 1610 as a marvel of prophetic beauty, and 

 l)roperly enough the description then made has been the foundation for the 

 name of the whole group of plants. 



The devout, or those gifted with a fertile imagination, find in the varioiis 

 parts of the blossom, the crown of thorns ; a blood colored fringe suggesting the 

 scourge wath which the blaster w^as tormented ; the nails ; five blood stains, stand- 

 ing for the wounds received on the cross ; the fine filaments, seventy-two in num- 

 ber, agreeing with the traditional number of thorns with which the crown was 

 set, and lastlj^ the lance-like leaves of the plant referring to the instrument which 

 pierced the Savour's side. The leaves are also marked beneath with certain spots 

 suggesting the thirty pieces of silver. 



But to return to the fruits belonging to this order, the species most com- 

 monly seen in the market is the egg-shaped water-lemon.**' This is an edible 

 fruit yellow in color, spotted with wdiite, the seeds having a sweetish, cool pulp 

 about them with a delicate and, to many, pleasant flavor. The flowers are about 

 two or three inches in diameter; the leaves entire with a short, sharp point. 



The purple-fruited w^ater-lemon or lili koi,*" is also common, having es- 

 caped to many places about the islands. The ganadilla,*'^ the largest of the 

 passion fruits, is a most remarkably strong-growing climber introduced from 

 tropical America. The large leaves three to five inches across, and the long 

 yellow-green melon-shaped fruit, often nine or ten inches in length, make it a 

 striking plant. The fruit is edible, being used to advanatge as a flavoring for 

 sherbets. 



** Eiifjfnia Jamlxtlima = Siizygiiiin Jambolana. *° Pas.nflora r(Trulea. *" Passiflora lainifolia. 



*' Passiflora edulis. *'* Passiflora quadrangularis. 



