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CHAPTER II.--LEAF-CLIMBERS.

Plants which climb by the aid of spontaneously revolving and
sensitive petioles--Clematis--Tropaeolum--Maurandia, flower-peduncles
moving spontaneously and sensitive to a touch--Rhodochiton--
Lophospermum--internodes sensitive--Solanum, thickening of the
clasped petioles--Fumaria--Adlumia--Plants which climb by the aid of
their produced midribs--Gloriosa--Flagellaria--Nepenthes--Summary on
leaf-climbers.
We now come to our second class of climbing plants, namely, those
which ascend by the aid of irritable or sensitive organs. For
convenience' sake the plants in this class have been grouped under
two sub-divisions, namely, leaf-climbers, or those which retain their
leaves in a functional condition, and tendril-bearers. But these
sub-divisions graduate into each other, as we shall see under
Corydalis and the Gloriosa lily.
It has long been observed that several plants climb by the aid of
their leaves, either by their petioles (foot-stalks) or by their
produced midribs; but beyond this simple fact they have not been
described. Palm and Mohl class these plants with those which bear
tendrils; but as a leaf is generally a defined object, the present
classification, though artificial, has at least some advantages.


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