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392 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY BOTANY, VOL. XIX
treatment in the Amoenitates, which cites a large number of "pre-
Linnaean" references, some of which, including the figure (pi. 10,
/. 19}, certainly apply to P. edulis. The only specimen in the
Linnean Herbarium which is labeled P. incarnata and was in Linnaeus'
possession in 1753 is true P. incarnata, and there can be no
doubt that this name should be applied to the plant native in the
United States.
Plate 152 of the Botanical Register is headed Passiflora incarnata
/3.
After citing several references which are applicable
to both P. incarnata and P. edulis Ker distinguishes between the
two "varieties" thus:
(a) foliis vage et ad nervos subvillosis; germine villoso; bacca
viridi-lutea.
(j8)
folis nudiusculis; germine glabro; bacco livido-purpurascente.
Regarding the distribution of the plant there figured Ker says,
"A native of Carolina and Virginia, most probably also of some
parts of South America." In a note at the end of the volume Ker
states that he later learned that the plant came from Brazil. There
can be no doubt that this illustration of P. incarnata /3 represents
the plant later described as P. edulis. Plate 332 of the Botanical
headed Passiflora incarnata, and Ker evidently intended
Register is
it to be a representation of his variety a mentioned under Plate 152,
the North American plant. The picture is a fairly accurate illustration
of P. incarnata except for the fact that the margin of
leaves is shown as entire.
the
I consider this an error on the part of the
artist, for Ker surely would have noted such an important point
had the leaves really been entire. This inaccurate drawing led to
the proposal of Passiflora Kerii Spreng. and Passiflora incarnata
var. Kerii DC. (Passiflora edulis var.
Kerii Mast.).
I am following Britton in the selection of P. incarnata as the type
species of Passiflora, and I believe the choice of P. rubra (Int. Bot.
Congr. 1930, p. 186) an unfortunate one. The latter was chosen
because it is "a well-known and widely distributed species, belonging
to the largest section, Decaloba." Should Passiflora be divided into
smaller genera, it is highly desirable that the historic name be
retained for the showy flowered granadillas, among which are the
familiar cultivated species P. caerulea, P. edulis, P. quadrangularis,
P. laurifolia, and P. maliformis. The number of species in Decaloba
(in the sense of Plectostemma of the present treatment) is 115, only
slightly greater than inGranadilla (96). Moreover, P. rubra belongs
to a very small group ( Xerogona) within Plectostemma, which might,