100 



PASSION FLOWER. — PASSIFLORA. 



Natural order, Cucurbitacece. Passiflorece, 

 Juss. A genus of the Monadelphia Pentan- 

 dria class. 



" Les Grenadilles eclatantes, 

 Allongeant leurs flexibles mains, 

 Escaladent le front des plantes, 

 Et s'unissent a leurs destins." 



This superb genus of climbing plants, of 

 which we have now so splendid a collection 

 in this country, was unknown before the 

 treasures of the western world were discover- 

 ed by Columbus. Its ancient American name 

 is Murucuia, or Maracoc ; but when first found 

 by the Spaniards in South America, they 

 called it Granadilla; from a resemblance 

 they conceived the fruit to bear to that of the 

 pomegranate, which is named Granadilla in 

 Spanish. It appears to have been cultivated 

 in Europe about the end of the sixteenth, or 

 very early in the seventeenth century, as we 

 find it pictured by Dr. Aldine, in 1620, from 

 a plant that had flowered in the garden of 



20 



