. 594, DR. M. T. MASTERS ON THE PASSIFLORACEZÆ. 
I have availed myself of every opportunity of examining fresh specimens that has pre- 
sented itself; and for this privilege I have specially to thank the Director and Curator of 
the Royal Gardens at Kew, as well as a large number of friends and correspondents who 
have from time to time furnished me with specimens for examination. 
ORGANOGRAPHY. 
Root.—The root offers few characters worthy of special comment, and, moreover, it is 
rarely or never seen in herbarium-specimens. It is probably very uniformly fibrous 
throughout the group, though in some cases, as in Passiflora quadrangularis* and 
Machadoa, it is said to be tuberous*. Whether these tubers are truly root-formations 
or subterranean forms of stem I have had no means of ascertaining. 
Stem.—We are so apt to consider a climbing-habit a necessary feature in all Passion- 
flowers, that it seems strange at first to find that at least half the genera of the order 
consist of erect herbs or shrubs destitute of tendrils. Even in the genus Passiflora itself 
certain of the species are trees with no indication of a climbing-habit. The minor cha- 
racters afforded by the form and superficial peculiarities of the stem and branches afford, 
in some instances, useful marks whereby to discriminate species. 
Leaves.—The leaves in this order are arranged alternately, and in $ order; they pre- 
sent great variations in form and size. Almost every conceiyable form of simple, lobed, 
and divided leaves may be met with; but true compound leaves are confined to the genus 
Deidamia, of which 1 have seen no representative. Some of the species of Passiflora 
are distinguished by the presence of leaves of very unusual form such as:—the trans- 
versely elliptical leaf of .P. coriacea, Juss.; the lunate leaves of P. lunata, Sm.; the 
wedge-shaped or semicircular leaves of P. Vespertilio L.; and the singular two-lobed leaf 
of P. perfoliata, resembling in some degree the head of a slug—the two diverging lobes 
representing the tentacles, the small intermediate process corresponding to the head of 
the ereature, whence Bory de St. Vincent's name of Cephaleima. 
Most of these peculiar forms are consequent upon the arrested growth of the central 
lobe, or on the disproportionate development of the two lateral ones. 
P. Berteriana has a much divided leaf, not unlike that of a T'halictrum ; other species 
have pedate leaves, like those of Helleborus or Arum Dracunculus. Some of the species 
of Passiflora exhibit leaves of various forms on the same plant at the same time—a cir- 
cumstance that has given rise to the establishment of several untenable species. 
The absence or presence of glands is a character of some importance in distinguishing 
species of Passiflora. When present they are almost always sessile, orbicular, and 
situated on the under surface, often in the angle between the divergent nerves; very fre- 
quently they are scattered irregularly over the lamina, as in the species “foliis ocellatis.” 
The nervation of the leaf is unicostate or palmicostate; in the latter case the number 
and size of the diverging costæ correspond to that of the lobes; if the latter are of about 
equal size, the nerves are equal likewise; if the central lobe is the largest, the cor- 
responding nerve has the preeminence over the lateral ones, while in the bilobed leaves, — 
where the central lobe is rudimentary or altogether wanting, the two lateral nerves are — 
..* Young plants of P. quadrangularis do not show this form of root. ` s 
