382 CUCURBITACE^, [Actinostemma. 



Toung ovary densely woolly. Fruit 1| in. long, oblong-sutcylindric, . 

 nearly glabrous, green and often iDlotciied with black. Seeds not 

 exceeding 5 in., rugulose. * 



Bundelkhand (Mrs. Bell). Distrib. E. Bengal, Xepal, and on the Sikkim 

 Himalaya np to 8,000 ft. 



16. ACTINOSTEMMA, Griff. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. ii, 632. 



Climbing weak herbs ; tendrils simple and 2-fid. Leaves petioled, 

 deeply cordate or hastate, elongate, much toothed, nearly glabrous. 

 Flowers small monoeoious, in lax axillary panicles, ^et^ice^* jointed 

 about their middle ; panicles frequently male with a few females 

 near the base. Male : Calyx rotate, 5 -partite, with lanceolate- 

 linear segments. Corolla 5-partite, segment=; lanceolate-caudate. 

 Stamens 5, free ; connective dilated, papillose on one side, with a 

 narrow straight oblong anther-cell on the other. Female : Calyx 

 and corolla as in the male. Ovary subglobose, verrucose, 1-celled ; 

 style sbort, with 2 reniform stigmas ; ovules 2-4, pendulous, sub- 

 parietal. Ca'pside ovoid, conical, ^-superior, covered with rough 

 points, circnmsciss above the middle. Seeds 2-4, compressed, ovate 

 corrugated and denticulate on the margin. — Specie!* 4, inhabiting 

 India, China and Japan. 



A. tenerum, Gri;^. PI. Cantor. 24, t. 3; F. B. J.ii, 633 {in part); 

 Cogn. in DC. 2Ion. Phan. Hi, 919. 



Stems slender, slightly hairy, at length scabrous. Tendrils 2-fid. or the 

 upper ones simple. Leaves 4 by 2^ in., narrowly triangular in outline, 

 sagittately 3-lobed, acute or acuminate, serrate or denticulate, punctate 

 and scabrid above ; '■petiole often 2 in. ; male yanides 3-6 in., hairy, 

 pedicel.-^ very short, brads subulate. Fern, flowers solitary or clustered. 

 Calyx-teeth subulate, with glandular margins. Fruit | by ^ in., ovate- 

 elliptic, not 3-gon-^us, upper part muricated as well as the lower ; 

 operculum large, conical. Seed^s about i in. long, slightly rugulose 

 on the faces. 



Eiohilkhand in the Pilibhit dist., and in the Kheri dist. of N. Oudh 

 (Duthie's collector). Distbib. E. Bengal, Assam, Silhet; also in 

 China. 



Allied to the goards are the Passion flowers, belonging to the natural 

 order Passifioracece, the species of which are confined chiefly to 

 S. America. Several kinds of Passiflora are cultivated in Indian 

 gardens for the sakd of their handsome flowers ; and others, such as 

 F. eduLis and P. quadrangularis, are grown for their edible fruit. 

 P, fcetida, L., from Brazil, has become naturalized in certain parts of 

 the area, and often has all the appearance of an indigenous species. 



