TENDIUL-BEAKEKS. 



81 



bifurcates, and therefore corresponds in every detail with the 

 longer scale-bearing branch (B, fig. 9) of the true tendril. It is, 

 however, inclined backwards from the sub-peduncle (C), or stands 

 at right angles with it, and is thus adapted to aid in carrying the 

 future bunch of grapes. The flower-tendril (B), when rubbed, 

 curves and subsequently straightens itself; and it can, as shown 

 in the drawing, securely clasp a support. I have seen an object 

 as soft as a young vine-leaf caught by one. 



The lower and naked part of the sub-peduncle (C) is likewise 



Fig. 10. 



Flower of the Vine. 



A. Common Peduncle. C. Sub-Peduncle. 



B. Flower-tendril, with a scale at its base. D. Petiole of opposite leaf. 



slightly sensitive to a rub, and I have seen it distinctly bent round 

 a stick and even partly round a leaf with which it had come into 

 contact. That the sub-peduncle has the same nature as the cor- 

 responding branch of the ordinary tendril is well shown when it 

 bears only a few flowers ; for in this ease it becomes less branched, 

 increases in length, and gains both in sensitiveness and in the 

 power of spontaneous movement. I have twice seen sub-peduncles 

 (C), bearing only from thirty to forty flower-buds, which had be- 



G 



