256 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART Ill. 
Bindwith, the common Virgin’s Bower, the wild Climber, the great wild Climber; Clematite 
tag Clematite des Haies, l’Herbe aux Gueux, la Viorne des Pauvres, F’r.; Gemeine Wald- 
rebe, Ger. 
Derivation. This plant was called Vitis sylvéstris (the wood vine) by Dioscorides ; and the name of 
Vitalba was given to it by Dodonzus, probably on account of the white appearance of the plant 
when covered with its seeds in autumn, which whiteness arises from the hairy tails of the carpels. 
It was called C. latifolia by Ray and Bauhin, from its broad-leaved variety; Viérna by L’Obel 
and others, from via, a way, and ornare, to ornament, inallusion to its ornamental appearance 
by the way side; and Vitis nigra by Fuchsius, from the dark colour of the bark of its young shoots. 
Gerard gave it the name of the Traveller’s Joy ; because of its ‘‘ decking and adorning the waysand 
hedges where people travel; and thereupon,” he says, “‘ I have named it the traveller’s joy.” 
(Herbal, by Johnson, p. 886.) The name of Old Man’s Beard is very appropriate to the white and 
hairy appearance of the tails of the carpels ; and Bindwith, from the shoots being used instead of 
those of willows for tying up plants. The French name of Clematite brulante has reference to the 
acrid properties of the plant; and Clematite des Haies to its growing generally in hedges. The 
name of ’Herbe aux Gueux refers to the employment of it by the beggars in France, who use it to 
make ulcers in their arms and legs, for the purpose of exciting compassion, curing themselves after- 
wards by the application of the leaves of the beet. La Viorne des Pauures alludes to the same 
practice, viorne being evidently derived from Vidérna. (Dict. Gén. des Eaux et Foréts, 1. p. 649.) 
Engravings. Jacq. Austr., 4. t. 308.; Eng. Bot., 612.; Willd. Abr., t. 113.; and our fig. 12. 
Spec. Char. eaves pinnate, leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, cordate 
at the base, partly cut. Peduncles forked, shorter than the leaves. (Don’s 
Mill., i. p.4.) Flowers white. From July to September. Britain. Height 
20 ft. 
Varieties. 
AC. 2 V. integrata. The entire-leaved White Vine Clematis. 
4 C. virginidna L., to be hereafter described, is considered by some to be 
only a variety of C. Vitalba. It was cultivated under the name of 
C. canadénsis by Miiler, who says that “it is very like the common 
sort, but with broader leaves, and rather more tender, the seeds 
not ripening in England unless the season be very warm.” 
Description. The stems are woody, 
more so than those of any other 
species, angular, climbing to the 
height of 20 ft. or 30 ft. or upwards, 
and hanging down from rocky cliffs, 
ruins, or the branches of trees; or 
being supported by, and forming tufts 
on, the upper surface of other shrubs, 
or low trees, which they often so 
completely cover as to have the ap- 
pearance of bushes at a distance. 
The footstalks of the leaves are 
twined about whatever object they 
approach, and afterwards become 
hard and persistent, like the tendrils 
of a vine. The leaves are either 
quite entire, or unequally cut ; 
sometimes very coarsely so. The 
panicles are axillary and terminal, 
many-flowered and downy. The 
flowers are of a greenish-white colour 
with little show; but they have a _ fs 
sweet almond-like scent. “ The ~~ 
seeds,” Smith observes, “ have long, \ 
wavy, feathery, and silky tails, forming beautiful tufts, most conspicuous in 
wet weather. [The water on the twigs and branches, which form the back 
ground to the carpels, rendering them darker than they are in dry weather.) 
They retain their vegetative principle for many years, if kept dry.” (Eng. 
Flora, iii. p. 39.) 
Geography. C. Vitalba is found throughout the middle and south of 
Europe, in the Grecian Archipelago, and in the north of Africa, about Tripoli. 
One or more varieties of it have been found in North America, and apparently 
another in Nepal. (See Dec. Syst., i. p. 140.) The topography of this plant in 
Britain, according to H.C. Watson, extends to Devonshire in the south, and 
58° north latitude. According to some, it is found in Scotland ; but Gerard, 
