October 23, 1909 



HORTICULTURE 



569 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum 



The two Clematises mentioned in the last issue as 

 coming into bloom have now opened their flowers. The 

 handsomest is an apparently new variety of Clematis 

 lasiandra with purple flowers. It is a vigorous grow- 

 ing vine perfectly glabrous with angular and grooved 

 stem in a young state more or less viscid, particularly 

 near the nodes. The long-stalked leaves are pinnate 

 with trifoliolate leaflets or on lateral shoots the whole 

 leaf often only trifoliolate; the leaflets are ovate, long- 

 pointed, toothed and from one to three inches long. 

 The nodding light purple flowers appear in axillary 

 clusters or sometimes solitary, the individual stalks 

 hardly exceeding one inch; the length of the flowers is 

 nearly one inch and they are campanulate with the tips 

 of the oblong-ovate sepals recurved. 



Less handsome in flower is Clematis truUifera, but 

 it is remarkable for the enlarged base of the leaf-stalks 

 which form large disks surrounding the smooth and 

 perfectly round stem. The leaves" are pinnate with 

 ovate long-pointed toothed or slightly lobed leaflets 

 somewhat hairy on both sides, the larger ones about 

 three inches long. The nodding greenish yellow flow- 

 ers appear in short-stalked axillary clusters and are 

 tubular-campanulate in shape and about three-quarters 

 of an inch long; they are followed like those of the pre- 

 ceding species by conspicuous heads of long-tailed 

 feathery fruits. These Clematises besides another vine, 

 Paederia foetida, mentioned in one of the preceding 

 issues, with rather inconspicuous flowers partly hidden 

 by the foliage are now the only shrubs in flower, if we 

 except a few belated spikes of Buddleia and our native 

 Witch-hazel. 



A very handsome new vine with ornamental fruits is 

 Celastrus flagellaris from North China and Korea sim- 

 ilar to the well-known Japanese C. orhiculatus. It is a 

 high climbing shrub with long and slender branches fur- 

 nished at the base of the leaf-stalks with pairs of small 

 hooked spines by which it fastens itself to trees and 

 shrubs over which it climbs. The slender-stalked leaves 

 are smaller than those of the Japanese species, broadly 

 ovate or nearly orbicular in outline, from one to two 

 inches long, finely serrate and glabrous. The insignifi- 

 cant greenish flowers are followed by ornamental fruits 

 similar to those of the Japanese species and disposed in 

 the same way along the branches. It has proved per- 

 fectly hardy at the Arboretum. 



Another high climbing species of the same genus is 

 Celastrus hypoleucus (C. hypoglaucus), named thus for 

 the whitish color of the underside of the leaves. These 

 are generally oblong-ovate, from two to five inches long, 

 crenate at the margin, pointed, bright green above and 

 bluish white on their under side. The flowers are larger 

 than in the preceding species, yellowish white, disposed 

 in terminal panicles up to 9 inches in length and are 

 followed by showy fruits similar to those of the other 

 Celastrus. 



Celastrus latifolius, like the preceding species from 



Central China, is remarkable for the size of its leaves 

 which are up to eight inches in length and six inches 

 in width ; they are slender-stalked, oval or broadly ovate 

 in outline, crenate at the margin and at the end con- 

 tracted abruptly into a short point. The yellowish 

 white, small flowers are followed by dull green fruits 

 disposed in terminal panicles from five to six inches in 

 length and perhaps even larger, disclosing when ripe 

 their orange red seeds. The two last named Celastruses 

 from Central China are certainly much more ornamental 

 on account of the large terminal panicles than the other 

 species in cultivation, but they may not be quite as 

 hardy in this neighborhood, which remains to be tested. 



Two Good Climbing Plants 



Climbing shrubs with ornamental flowers, apart from 

 roses, are none too plentiful in our gardens and any 

 addition to the number is always welcome to those who 

 have suitable positions in which to grow them. Al- 

 though by no means new plants, the two to which I 

 wish to draw attention, viz.. Polygonum multiflorum 

 and P. Baldschuanicum, are far from being well known 

 and yet for many positions they are two of the most 

 beautiful and useful plants we have. The first named, 

 a native of China and Japan, has been in cultivation for 

 many years but apart from Botanic Gardens it is not 

 generally known in this country. Young plants raised 

 from seed sent here by that indefatigable collector, Mr. 

 E. H. Wilson, may now be seen growing in the Arnold 

 Arboretum. The plant shown in our cover illustration 

 flowered at the Farquhar greenhouses, Eoslindale, 

 Mass., and is on exhibition at the New England Fruit 

 Show. 



The other species P. Baldschuanicum, is a native of 

 Bokhara and found its way into general cultivation 

 through the Imperial Botanic Gardens at St. Petersburg. 

 Both of these Polygoniums are very rampant growers 

 and frequently make as much as thirty feet of stem in 

 one season but in spite of this there is no suggestion of 

 weediness such as can sometimes be seen in plants of 

 rapid growth. The flowers in both cases are white 

 and produced with the greatest profusion in panicles 

 throughout the summer and fall. 



It is not difficult to find a suitable place for these two 

 handsome plants. They are perfectly hardy, will suc- 

 ceed on the majority of soils though a good loam is pre- 

 ferable, and require very little attention in the way of 

 pruning, but it is important that a sunny, open position 

 be chosen where the wood is able to become well ripened. 

 For covering pergolas, buildings such as sheds, tree 

 stumps, fences or for any positions where climbing 

 plants are used they are among the most desirable 

 shrubs we have. 



