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THE PASSION-FLOWER. 
PASSIFLORA CjERULEA. 
“ And one more plant my humble muse inspires, 
Round which my parting thoughts would fondly cling : 
Which, consecrate to Salem’s peaceful king, 
Though fair as any gracing beauty’s bower, 
Is linked to sorrow like a holy thing, 
And takes its name from suffering’s fiercest hour — 
Be this thy noblest fame, imperial Passion-flower.” 
If we are indebted to Africa for most of our choicest 
heaths, we owe to America the genus Passiflora, which 
comprehends several species, all of which are eminently 
beautiful. Most of them require artificial heat, repaying 
the care bestowed upon them by the ornamental effect 
they give to our stoves. They belong to the climbing 
order of plants; and some of them — the Passiflora 
quadrangularis, for instance—are mentioned by tra¬ 
vellers as hanging their elegant blossoms in festoons 
around the highest trees in tropical forests. In Cook’s 
voyages a curious fact is recorded of this genus, and 
other plants of similar character. So closely do they 
