186 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
VITEX (the old Latin name used by Pliny for this 
or some similar shrub). Syns. Limia, Nephrandra, 
Psilogyne, Wallrothia (of Roth). ORD. Verbenacee. A 
genus comprising about sixty species of stove, greenhouse, 
or hardy trees or shrubs, broadly dispersed over the 
warmer regions of the globe, a few extending to temperate 
Asia and South Europe. Flowers white, blue, violet, or 
yellowish, in variously-disposed cymes; calyx five-toothed 
or cleft, or rarely three-cleft; corolla tube straight or 
slightly incurved, usually short, the limb oblique, spread- 
ing, sub-bilabiate, five-cleft, the lower lobe largest; 
stamens four, didynamous; bracts small or rarely longer 
than the calyx. Leaves opposite, often digitately com- 
pound, rarely one-foliolate or simple; leaflets three to 
seven, petiolulate, entire or toothed. A selection of the 
best-known species is given below. V. Agnus-castus 
succeeds in any common, tolerably dry soil, and may be 
increased by cuttings, inserted in similar soil, under a 
‘glass, in autumn. A compost of loam and peat is most 
suitable for the stove and greenhouse species, which may 
be multiplied by cuttings, inserted in sand, under a 
glass, those of the stove kinds in heat. 
v. (Bignonia-like). fl. blue 
H somewha 
P ^ on uncles 2in. to din. long. Sana’ £ SE 
'e-foliolate ; og v a inat pidate, narrowed at 
) . or more bro su r 
petiole ljin. or more long. AN Voce 1 geng 
+ Doniana (Don’s). Black Plum. f in 
) 1 . a moderate- 
sized me l. five-foliolate, obovate. S Leone. A large, 
Fic. 202. LEAF or VITEX ILICIFOLIA, 
V. ilicifolia (Holly-leaved 
the leaves, on long i 
rusty-pubescent. Summer. I 
base, very slenderly reticula 
7 n 
i4 the teeth spiny. West Indies. 
X, acute or cordate-emmarpinte ot 
- tow Margins sinuate-toothed 
Stove shrub, £ 
A. in axillary cymes, longer than ` 
small, pleasan 
. slender, compound. 7, 
See Fig. ST 
Vitex—continued. 
V. Lindeni (Linden’s).* gd pale lilac, streaked with red inside 
the tube, shortly pedicellate or sessile, in three to six-flowered, 
pedunculate, axillary cymes; corolla tube thrice exceeding the 
calyx, the limb flat, two-lipped, the upper E of two smaller, 
the lower of three larger, rounded lobes. ay. J. digitately 
three to five-foliolate, on slender petioles ; leaflets sessile, elliptic 
or elliptic-obovate, abruptly acuminate, pale green, glabrous. 
Branches spreading; branchlets and inflorescence hoary-pubes- 
et, Columbia, 1876. Stove shrub or small tree. (. M. 
V. Ne do (Negundo) fl. purple; corolla jin. to iin. long; 
nicles terminal, closely white-tomentose. June. J. three to 
ve-foliolate ; leaflets lanceolate, entire or crenate, glabrate 
above, white-tomentose beneath. A. 4ft. India, 1812. Stove 
shrub or small tree, closely allied to V. trifolia. 
bicolor. 
V. N. incisa (cut-leaved).* Z., leaflets crenate-serrate or sub- 
pinnatifid. India, China, &c. Greenhouse. (B. M. 364, under 
name of V. Negundo.) 
V. trifolia (three-leafleted). Indian Wild Pepper. f. varying 
from lavender to blue; corolla tomentose, iin. to jin. long; 
p lin. to 4in. long, oblong, white-tomentose, often leafy at 
ase. July. J. simple and trifoliolate; leaflets sessile, obovate 
or obovate-oblong, entire, lin. to 3in. long, sub-obtuse, glabrate 
above, clothed beneath with matted, scarcely stellate hairs. 
h. 4ft. India, Polynesia, &c., 1739. Stove shrub or small tree. 
(B. M. 2187.) 
V. t, variegata (variegated). fl. violet-purple. J. opposite, with 
white margins. South Sea Islands, 1876. A slender, greenhouse 
shrub, with downy branches. 
VITICASTRUM. 
(which see). 
. VITICELLA. A common name for Clematis 
Viticella (which see). 
Syn. V. 
A synonym of Sphenodesma 
VITICULOSE. Sarmentaceous; furnished with vine- 
like twigs or suckers (viticule). ? 
VITIS (the old Latin name used by Virgil, &e., per- 
haps from vieo, to bind; in allusion to its clinging 
character). Vine. Ampelopsis and Cissus are here 
included by Bentham and Hooker, but for garden purposes 
these are kept distinct in this work. ORD. Ampelidec. 
A vast genus (about 230 species) of stove, greenhouse, or 
hardy, tendrilled, sarmentose, often tall-climbing shrubs, 
mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, but rare 
in tropical America. Flowers small, umbellate, cymose, 
paniculate, racemose or spicate, ebracteate, sometimes 
polygamous; calyx four or five-toothed or lobed; petals 
and stamens four or five; peduncles leaf-opposed or very 
rarely axillary, often near the tips of the branchlets. 
Berries ovoid or globose, one or two-celled; cells one 
-or two-seeded. Leaves simple or compound, very rarely 
bipinnate ; leaflets entire, serrated or dentate, sometimes 
pellucid-dotted. The Grape Vine (V. vinifera) has been 
cultivated since the days of Noah, and is supposed to 
have been introduced into this couhtry by the Romans. 
Its principal products are : Wine, vinegar, brandy, raisins, 
and currants. The hardy species of Vitis are admirably 
grow up trees, or over strong-growing shrubs; also for 
trailing over massive rockwork, or along on the ground. 
They usually grow strong in good, loamy soil, and, con- 
sequently, require considerable space. 
The foliage is —— 
very ornamental at all times, particularly when changing ` 
colour in autumn. Vines requiring indoor treatment ` 
may be planted out, or grown in large pots, and trained 
to rafters, or a trellis. Propagation is easily effected by 
cuttings, inserted in pots, and placed in a close propa- 
gating-frame. . Ripened wood, of the previous years 
growth, wil, in most, if not all, cases, root in a similar 
way to the Grape Vine; and, as the plants are gross 
feeders, they do best in a rich, loamy soil, with some 
manure intermixed. See also Wine. 
V. sestivalis (summer)* Ameri i 
. can Summer Gra fl. with a 
onette-like scent. May and June. Jr. black: with a bloom. 
pei ge inde matings 
various] is m ro à an CO » 
DN y beneath, smoothish when old. 
North America, 1606. Hardy climber. aedes 
ant 
often ` 
