Class PENTANDRIA. Order TRIGYNIA. 
Natural Order PASSIFLOREiE. PASSION FLOWER TRIBE. 
The Passion Flowers and their allies, associated to form this type, are herbaceous, or shrubby plants, 
rarely trees, with often twining scandent stems, and alternate simple petiolate leaves, either entire or lobed, 
and usually furnished with glands and stipules. 
The inflorescence is axillary, and the peduncles which in the non-scandent species are all floriferous, 
become in part in the climbing ones, converted into tendrils. The flowers are showy, regular, and united, 
rarely separated by abortion, usually solitary, seldom aggregate, and for the most part invested with a 
triphyllous involucrum. 
The calyx is free, the sepals 5-10, the external ones herbaceous, and the inner petaloid, they are 
imbricate in aestivation, sometimes irregular, cohere by their ungues, and constitute a tube of variable 
length, which is lined by filamentous or annular processes, forming a nectary. The petals when present 
are five in number, and exserted from the faux of the calyx external to the ring of filaments ; often meta- 
morphosed into the filamentous nectary. The torus lines the bottom of the calyx, and is produced to 
form a cylindrical column, which bears the germen, and from which the stamens are exserted; the stamina 
are definite (5) in Smeathmannia alone indefinite, surrounded by numerous barren filaments, forming a 
radiant circle, arranged in one or two series, thus accounting for the indefinite stamens of Smeathmannia. 
The filaments are shortly monodelphous and opposite the external lobes of the calyx, the anthers versatile, 
or rather peltate, being attached to the filaments by their back; reversed and thus by situation extrorse, 
although in reality introrse, two celled and dehiscent lengthwise, the germen is free, stipitate, one celled, 
with three, rarely five, parietal placentae, and many ovules, the styles are short or none, and the stigmata 
are equal in number to the trophosperms, thick and lobed or dilated. The fruit is baccate or capsular, 
either naked or invested by the calyx, and elevated on the stalk like torus. It is three, rarely five, valved, 
one celled, when capsular dehiscent by valves, when baccate indehiscent: the parietal placentae ( 3 - 5 in 
number,) are polyspermous, nerviform, and attached to the middle of the valves, the seeds are pendulous, 
rarely erect, and covered either by membranous or pulpy arillus, (seldom exarillate) the testa is crusta- 
ceous, and the tegmen membranaceous, the albumen is fleshy but thin, and often scrobiculate; the embryo 
is straight and included, the radicle round and turned towards the hilum, and the cotyledons flat and 
foliaceous, seldom fleshy. 
Hence, selecting the chief differential characters, the Passifloracese are subcorollaceous grossulinee, 
with radiant nectaries, a stipitiform staminiferous torus: definite, many seeded placentae ; and scrobiculate 
albumen. 
The Passifloraceae although in general innoxious, are suspicious plants for one species. Passiflora 
Quadrangularis, is known to be deleterious, and the others have not been sufficiently examined to allow 
their innocence to be affirmed, notwithstanding, the fruit of most of them, even of the noxious one, is 
eatable. 
The Passion Flowers are not only curious, but most beautiful plants ; they grow well and blossom 
freely in this country, yet they seldom ripen their fruit. Several hybrid varieties have been produced by 
art, which exceed in beauty any of the natural species. It may be propagated from seeds, cuttings or 
layers; it is said that layers or cuttings seldom produce fruit, its situation should be with a southern aspect 
