OiiAP. L TWINING PLANTS. 23 



not wind round it. This apparently was due to the 

 flexure of the shoot, whilst winding round an object 

 so gently curred as this post, not being sufficient to 

 'hold the shoot to its place when the growing surface 

 crept round to the opposite surface of the shoot ; so 

 that it was withdrawn at each reyolution from its 

 support. 



When a free shoot has grown far beyond its support, 

 it sinks downwards from its weight, as already explained 

 in the case of the Hop, with the revolTing extremity 

 turned upwards. If the support be not lofty, the shoot 

 falls to the ground, and resting there, the extremity 

 rises up. Sometimes several shoots, when flexible, 

 twine together into a cable, and thus support one 

 another. Single thin depending shoots, such as those 

 of the SoUya Drummondii, will turn abruptly back- 

 wards and wind up on themselves. The greater 

 number of the depending shoots, however, of one 

 twining plant, the Mibbertia dentata, showed but little 

 tendency to turn upwards. In other cases, as with the 

 Cryjptostegia grandijlora, several intemodes which were 

 at first flexible and revolved, if they did not succeed in 

 twining round a support, become quite rigid, and sup- 

 porting themselves upright, carried on their summits 

 the younger revolving intemodes. 



Here will be a convenient place to give a Table 

 showing the direction and rate of movement of several 

 twining plants, with a few appended remarks. These 

 plants are arranged according to Lindley's ' Vegetable 

 Kingdom ' of 1853 ; and they have been selected fiom 



