It branches from the very bottom into feveral {lender (talks 

 feveral feet in length, which entwine round one another and 

 whatever fupport comes in their way, where they are held fall 

 by the footftalks of the leaves, which, after thefe decay, become 

 woody, and continue to perform the office of clafpers. The 

 {talks are truly farmentous, the internodes being perfectly 

 naked. At equal diftanccs of about four inches, the leaves and 

 flowers (bring from the fame bud. Thefe gemmai are gene- 

 rally oppolite, confiit of (evert) imbricated periiitent fquamae, 

 the centre onei larger, membranous, and of a brown colour. 

 It may be confidcred iis an involucrum, from the bofom of 

 which grow ulually two petioles and a peduncle bearing a fo- 

 litary nodding flower. The petioles are an inch and half long, 

 (mooch, or, if examined with a lens, (lightly pubefcent, and 

 divide into three branches, of which the centre one is the 

 longed, each bearing a termite leaf. The leaflets, as in moll 

 of the genus, are fubjefcl to vary confiderably in lhape, but in 



ral the three terminal ones arc dillinct, ovate, acute, and 

 more or lei's deeply lerrated, the lateral leaflets frequently run 

 all three into oik- ; all are fmooth, but veiny on the under 

 fide. The peduncle is longer than the leaves and ftraight, 

 •mq the flower nodding and the feeds erect. In the axilla: 

 »if the petiolei the new gemmae are formed. By this arrange- 

 ment, and the perfillent petioles, the old knots' become VttJ 

 Urge and intricate. The outer corolla confifts of four Ii.- 



Il of a hue blue colour with a white edge, are ovate, acute, 



covered on the outfide, efpecially at the margins, with a 

 fine down. The inner petals arc in fact, nothing more than 

 enlarged barren filaments; and therefore the feparation of 

 this genas from Clematis, appears to us, in this inftance ft 

 leafi, to be neither natural nor nccefTary. The plume of the 

 feed is a bufhy tail of long white hairs, but is neither fecund, 



prcfentcd in Jacquin's figure, nor diflicb, as defcribed 

 by W i v. 



It is propagated by feeds only, at leaft the experienced 

 cultivator who introduced it, has not vet been able to fuccecd 

 rny other mode. Is perfectly hardy, bearing the fevered 

 frofts of our climate without injury. 



