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Updated: June 20, 2025
The most remote part of the valley is covered by a thick forest. In this shady and solitary spot, on the declivity of a steep mountain, the cavern of Ataruipe opens to the view. Every skeleton reposes in a sort of basket made of the petioles of the palm-tree. These baskets, which the natives call mapires, have the form of a square bag.
If we further inquire how the stems, petioles, tendrils, and flower-peduncles of climbing plants first acquired their power of spontaneously revolving, or, to speak more accurately, of successively bending to all points of the compass, we are again silenced, or at most can only remark that the power of moving, both spontaneously and from various stimulants, is far more common with plants, than is generally supposed to be the case by those who have not attended to the subject.
With this change, great durability is probably acquired; at least this is the case with the clasped petioles of Clematis vitalba. The meaning of these changes is obvious, namely, that the petioles may firmly and durably support the stem. Clematis microphylla, var. leptophylla.
A petiole excited by an extremely slight weight sometimes bends a little, and then becomes accustomed to the stimulus, and either bends no more or becomes straight again, the weight still remaining suspended. Petioles which have clasped an object for some little time cannot recover their original position.
In certain species of Tropaeolum, both the spontaneous movements of the internodes and the sensitiveness of the petioles have become much enfeebled, and in one species have been completely lost.
The movement begins whilst the tendril is young, and is at first slow. The mature tendrils of Bignonia littoralis move much slower than the internodes. In most Bignonias, Eccremocarpus Mutisia, and the Fumariaceae, the internodes, petioles and tendrils all move harmoniously together.
March through the mountains, which are of beautiful white and pink dolomite, scantily covered with upland trees and vegetation. The rain, as usual, made us halt early, and wild fruits helped to induce us to stay. In one place we lighted on a party of people living on Masuko fruit, and making mats of the Shuaré palm petioles.
The stem, whilst young, twines regularly round a thin vertical stick, and in one case I counted eight spiral turns in the same direction; but when grown older, the stem often runs straight up for a space, and, being arrested by the clasping petioles, makes one or two spires in a reversed direction.
The petioles of the perfect leaves of Tropaeolum tricolorum, as well as the tendril-like filaments of the plants whilst young, ultimately move towards the stem or the supporting stick, which they then clasp. These petioles and filaments also show some tendency to contract spirally. The tips of the uncaught leaves of the Gloriosa, as they grow old, contract into a flat spire or helix.
As the plant grows in height new filaments are produced with slightly enlarged tips; then others, bearing on each side of the enlarged medial tip a rudimentary segment of a leaf; soon other segments appear, and at last a perfect leaf is formed, with seven deep segments. So that on the same plant we may see every step, from tendril-like clasping filaments to perfect leaves with clasping petioles.
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