CHAP. I. iJANUNCULA^CEJS. CLF/MATIS. 233 



from the time of Matthiolus to the recent introductions from the Himalaya. 

 The acrid properties of the Clematis are well known to herbalists. The 

 bark, leaves, and blossoms are used to raise blisters on the skin, or to pro- 

 duce a slight external intlanimation: taken internally they area corrosive 

 poison. The ilowei's contain a peculiar substance, called clematine, which is 

 similar to gluten; the green leaves, bruised, are ajiplied to ulcers, to produce 

 sloughing. The lloricultural 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 ])rops of some kind ; and all grow freely in any 

 soil that is tolerably dry, but more especially 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 occasionally 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 principal European and 

 American nurseries. 



The ligneous species of Clematis are included in four sections ; viz. Flam- 

 mula, Viticella, Cheiropsis, and ylnemoneliora. 



§ i. Fldmmula Dec. 



J 



iiectional Character. Involucre wanting. Tail of the carpels long, bearded 

 and feathery. Cotyledons distant in the seed. {Dons Mill, i. p. 3.) 

 1 1. Cle'matis Fla'mmula L. The inflammatory -y?ac«/ Clematis, or 

 siveet-scented Virgin's Bower. 



Jihntification. Lin. Sp., 76fi. ; Wilki. Sp., 2. p. r^93. ; Hayne Den., p. 119. ; Lam. Diet. Encyc, 2. 



p. 42. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 2. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. 

 Synonymcs. C. ilreiis G'crnj-rf ; C.msLXit.\mA All. Pcd,; C. suaveolcns Sn/iift. Pcorf. ; Cli^raatite odo- 



raute, Fr. ; Soharfe waldrebe, Gcr. 

 Dcritiation. iTomflammare, 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 Jig. 9. 



Specific Character. Leaves pinnate, smooth; with orbicular, oval, oblong or 

 linear, entire or three-lobed, acutishleailets. {Dons Mill., i.p. 4.) Flowers 

 white. July to Oct. Height 15 ft. 1596. 

 Varieties and their Si/nomjines. The following are given by De CandoUe ; 

 but they are not of much importance in point of general elTect: 



-I. C. F. 2 rotundifulia Dec.,fragrans Tenore. — Leaflets almost orbicular. 



■^ C. F. 3 maritima Dec. — Leaflets linear. 



IC F.A rubella Dec. — Leaflets oval, usually emarginate. Sepals four, 



reddish on the outside. 

 1 C F. 5 ccespitijsa Dec, C. ccBspitbsa Scop., C. Flumimda 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, at- 

 taching 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 »reen 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 unlike the fragrance of the 

 common hawthorn. The number of the styles varies from five to eight, each 



