the year 1771, but it is comparatively lately. that it has 
become so common a favourite for tapestrying the walls of 
conservatories, &c., and for which no other plant is so well 
suited. Itis a native of both China and Japan, extending as 
far south as Hong Kong. Our figure of the fruiting plant 
was taken from a specimen grown at Kylemore Castle, 
co. Galway, in the garden of Mitchell Henry, Esq., M.P. 
Desor. Stem and branches of young and barren plants 
extensively creeping and rooting, much branched and 
spreading, appressed to and clothing the trunks of trees, 
walls, &c., flexuous, slender, hispid; fruiting branches 
suberect, free, stout, jointed, channelled, hispidly hairy. 
Leaves of young and barren branches close-set, distichous, 
shortly petioled or sessile, appressed to the wall or support, 
half an inch to one and a half inch long, obliquely 
ovate-cordate, subacute, very unequal at the base, glabrous 
or scabridly pubescent, nerves very reticulate beneath; 
stipules glabrous, membranous, bifid; leaves of fruiting 
branches three to four inches long, elliptic-oblong, petioled, 
spreading all round, very coriaceous, obtuse at both ends 
or rounded at the base, which is triple-nerved, smooth on 
both surfaces, closely and prominently reticulate, beneath 
dark green ; petiole one-half to two-thirds of an inch long, 
hispidly hairy, reddish ; stipules lanceolate, densely hirsute 
on the back. Receptacle peduncled, solitary, axillary, pear- 
or top-shaped, two to three inches long, narrowed at the 
base and tip, obscurely lobed, dark blue- or red-purple, 
appressedly pubescent, at length glabrous, fleshy; bracts 
at the mouth ovate, acute, spreading, inner surface villous ; 
peduncle as long, very hairy. Flowers, female only seen, 
pedicelled ; perianth-segments four, oblong, obtuse. Ovary 
obliquely rounded or dimidiate; style either capillary with 
an acute stigma, or shorter with a peltate stigma.—J. D. H. 
Fig. 1, Female flower from near the mouth of the receptacle :—enlarged. 
