498 PASSIFLOEACEiE — TUENEEACE^ — PAEONYCHIAOEJE. 



as either wanting, or existing in the form of filamentous or annular 

 processes. The name Passion-flower was given on account of a fancied 

 resemblance in the flowers to the appearances presented at Calvary. 

 In the five anthers the superstitious monks saw a resemblance to the 

 wounds of Christ ; in the triple style, the three nails on the cross ; in 

 the central gynandrophore, the pillar of the cross ; and in the fila- 

 mentous processes, the rays of light round the Saviour, or the crown 

 of thorns. Many of the plants, such as Passiflora quadrangularis and 

 edulis (GrenadiUas), Paropsia edulis, and species of Tacsonia, yield 

 edible fruits, the pulp or succulent arillus being fragrant and cooling. 

 The root of Passiflora quadrangula/ris is said to be emetic and power- 

 fully narcotic, on which account it is cultivated in several French 

 settlements. It seems to owe its activity to a peculiar prin- 

 ciple called Passiflorin. Other plants of the order are bitter and 

 astringent. 



Order 81. — Ttjenerace^, the Turnera Family. {Polypet. Perigyn.) 

 Calyx with 5 equal lobes ; aestivation imbricated. Petals 5, peri- 

 gynous, equal ; aestivation twisted. Stamens 5, perigynous, alter- 

 nating with the petals ; filaments distinct ; anthers ditheoal, innate, 

 oblong. Ovary free, 1-celled, with 3 parietal placentas ; ovules oo , 

 anatropal ; styles more or less cohering, or forked ; stigmas multifid. 

 Fruit a 1-celled, 3-valved capsule, dehiscing only half-way down, in a 

 loculicidal manner. Seeds crustaceous, reticulated, arUlate on one 

 side ; embryo slightly curved, in the midst of fleshy albumen ; cotyle- 

 dons plano-convex ; radicle pointing to the hilum. — Herbaceous or 

 somewhat shrubby plants, occasionally with stellate pubescence, having 

 alternate, stipulate leaves, and frequently two glands at the apex of the 

 petiole. Seemann states that Tumeracese ought to be included in Pas- 

 sifloracesB. They are natives of the West Indies and South America. 

 They are not put to any important use. Tv/mera crpifera is astringent, 

 and is employed in Brazil against dyspepsia. Turnera ulmifolia is 

 considered tonic and expectorant. Genera, 3 ; species, 76. ExanvpUs 

 — Turnera, Wormskioldia. 



Order 82. — Paeonychiaceje, the Knotwort Family. (Poiypet. 

 Perigyn.) Sepals 4-5, distinct or cohering. Petals perigynous, be- 

 tween the divisions of the calyx, usually inconspicuous, sometimes 0. 

 Stamens usually perigynous, sometimes hypogynous, opposite to the 

 sepals when equal to them in number, some of them occasionally 

 wanting ; filaments distinct, rarely united ; anthers bilocular. Ovary 

 superior, with one or more ovules ; styles 2-3, distinct or combined. 

 Fruit unilocular, either a utricle covered by the calyx, or a 3-valved 

 capsule. Seeds either numerous, attached to a free central placenta, 

 or solitary and pendulous from a long funiculus arising from the base 

 of the fruit. Embryo more or less curved, lying on one side of the 

 farinaceous albumen, or surrounding it. — Herbaceous or somewhat 



