CHAP. I. RANUNCULA CER. CLE’MATIS. 233 
time of Matthiolus to the recent introductions from the Himalaya. The acrid 
properties of the Clématis are well known to herbalists. The bark, leaves, 
and blossoms are used to raise blisters on the skin, or to produce a slight ex- 
ternal inflammation : taken internally they are a corrosive poison. The flow- 
ers contain a peculiar substance, called clematine, which is similar to gluten; 
the green leaves, bruised, are applied to ulcers, to produce sloughing. The 
floricultural use of these plants is, to cover bowers, or ornament verandas or 
trellis-work, The greater number of them ripen their seeds in England, and are 
easily propagated by them, or by layers. They all require support by props of 
some kind; and all grow freely in any soil that is tolerably dry, but more es- 
pecially in one that is calcareous. From the acridity of these plants, they are 
not very liable to be attacked by insects ; nevertheless, snails and slugs are oc- 
casionally found eating their young herbage. Most of the species and varieties 
which we shall describe are to be found in the principal botanic gardens of 
Europe, and have been seen by us in that of the Horticultural Society of 
London ; and the more ornamental of them are cultivated for sale in the prin- 
cipal European and American nurseries. 
The ligneous species of Clématis are included in four sections; viz. Flam- 
mula, Viticélla, Cheirépsis, and Anemoneflora. 
§ i. Fdmmula Dec. 
Tag 
Sectional Character. Involucre wanting. Tail of the carpels long, bearded 
and feathery. Cotyledons distant in the seed. (Don’s Mill, i. p. 3.) 
4&1. CLe’Matis Fia‘umuta L. The inflammatory-juiced Clematis, o 
sweet-scented Virgin’s Bower. 
Identification. Lin. Sp., 765.; Willd. Sp., 2. p. 1293.; Hayne Den., p. 119. ; Lam. Dict. Encyc., 2. p. 42.; 
Dec. Prod., 1. p. 2.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. 
Synonymes. C. irens Gerard; C. maritima All. Ped.; C. suaveolens Salish. Prod.; Clematite odo- 
rante, Fr. ; Scharfe waldrebe, Ger. 
Derivation. From flammare, to inflame; on account of the blistering qualities of the species. 
Engravings. Park, Theat., p. 381. f. 3.; Knorr. His., 2. p. 9. ; and our fig. 9. 
Specific Character. Leaves pinnate, smooth; with orbicular, oval, oblong or 
linear, entire or three-lobed, acutish leaflets. (Don’s Mill., i. p.4.) Flowers 
white. July to Oct. Height 15 ft. 1596. 
Varieties and their Synonymes. The following are given by De Candolle ; 
but they are not of much importance in point of general effect. 
4 C. F. 2 rotundifolia Dec., fragrans Tenore.— Leaflets almost orbicular. 
4 C. F. 3 maritima Dec. — Leaflets linear. 
AC. F. 4 rubélla Dec.— Leaflets oval, usually emarginate. Sepals 
four, reddish on the outside. 
AC. F. 5 cespitisa Dec., C. cespitisa Scop., C. Flammula Bertol. — 
Leaflets minute, entire, or cut. 
Description. A vigorous-growing plant, the stems of which attain the 
length of 10 ft. or 15 ft. in a wild state, and from 15 ft. to 30 ft. in a state of 
culture. The leaves of the entire plant are subject to much variation, from 
soil, situation, and climate. The shoots of a well-established plant, which 
has been cut down, grow with great rapidity in the early part of the season, 
attaching themselves to whatever is near them. The peduncles of the flowers 
are sometimes simple and sometimes branched. The colour of the sepals is 
white, slightly pubescent on their exterior margins. The whole plant has a 
dark green hue; and in autumn it is abundantly covered with flowers, the 
odour of which is of a honeyed sweetness, exceedingly disagreeable to some 
persons when near, though at a distance it is not unhke the fragrance of the 
common hawthorn. The number of the styles varies from five to eight, each 
