CHAP. I. 7?anuncula'ce.e. clf/m atis. 237 



but Gerard, and also Winch, assert that it is not indigenous in the north of 

 En^hind, whioli we believe to be the fact. It is common in France and 

 Germany, and is found in the south of Sweden, but not in Denmark. 



History. This species appears to have been first recorded by Theophras- 

 tus, as Athragenc and also as Klematis ; and it h;is been since frequently 

 mentioned by botanists, under various names, given in our list ot syno- 

 nymes, from the time of Dioscorides to the days of Linuajus. 



Properties and Uses. Du Hamel states, that the French gardeners not 

 only use the Iwigs of this plant instead of withs, for tying up their plants, 

 but that after stripping them of their bark, they make very neat baskets of 

 them {Traite des Arbrcs, c^c, 1st edit. 1755, p. 175.) ; and they also make of 

 them beehives and a variety of other articles of the same kind. _ The twigs 

 are in the best state for making these articles in winter; and their flexibility 

 is increased by holding them to the fire before using them. Desfontaines 

 says that the young shoots are not corrosive while they are tender and her- 

 baceous, and that in the south of France they feed cattle with them in that 

 state, and eat them pickled in vinegar. It is also said, in the Dictioniiaire 

 General des Earn: et Forets (vol. i. p. 649.), that a very good paper has been 

 made from the feathery part of the seed. Professor Burnet observes that C 

 Vitalbaisused in medicine as a rubefacient incase of rheumatism ; and that 

 the dried leaves of tlie plant form a good fodder for cattle, thou<zh they [we 

 presume, the matured ones] would poison the animals if they were eaten in 

 a fresh state ; hence affording a good example of the rule which predicates 

 the volatile nature of their acridity. {Outlines of Botany, vol. ii. p. 338.) 

 The shepherds, in some parts of England and Germany, often cut pieces of 

 the old wood of this plant, which they light at one end, and smoke like a pipe 

 of tobacco. In gardens and plantations the plant is valuable for the rapidity 

 with which it may be made to cover naked walls, unsightly roofs of sheds, or 

 low buildings and arbours ; and also to shelter exposed situations, and for a 

 variety of similar purposes. It is interesting both when in flower and when 

 in seed ; and the seeds remain on the greatest part of the winter. 



Soil and Situation. It is generally found on chalky or calcareous soils, 

 and seldom, if ever, under the dense shade of trees. On the contrary, 

 when it grows up among bushes, it generally spreads over their upper sur- 

 face, so that its leaves and flowers are fully exposed to the influence of the 

 light and air. 



' Propagation and Culture. It is readily propagated by seeds, which often 

 remain eighteen months in the soil before they germinate. It will root_ by 

 layers ; but the plant being common in a wild state throughout Europe, it is 

 seldom cultivated in nursery gardens. 



1 7. C. vieginia'na L. The Virginian Clematis. 



Identification. Lin. Amoen., p. 27.').; Willd. Sp., 2. p. 1290.; 



Lam. Diet., 2. p. 43.; Mich. Fl. B. Amer., 1. p. 318. ; Dec. 



Prod., 1. p. 4. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. S. 

 Synonymcs. C. canadensis trifcilia rdpens Toitrn.x C. canadensis 



Mill Diet., No. ^., Salisb. Prod., 371.; C. cordifOlia Moench. 



.Siipp., 104. ; the broad-leaved Canada Virgin's Bower; Cluraa- 



tite de Virginie, Fr. ; Virginisclie Waldrebe, Ger. 

 Kngravings. Pluk. Mant., t. 389. f. 4. ; Alb. Acad. Ann., 1. p. 79. 



t. 7. ; Den. Brit, (the male plant), t. 74. ; En. PI., f. 797H. ; 



and our fig. 13. 



Spec. Char. Flowers panicled, dioecious. Leaves 

 ternate ; leaflets cordate, acute, grossly toothed, 

 or lobed. (Dons Mill-., i. p. 5.) Flowers greenish 

 white, fragrant. June to August, 1767. Height 

 15 ft. 

 Variety. 



1 C. ». 2 hractedta'DQC. The bracted Virginian 



Clematis. — " Leaflets ovate-lanceolate, 



entire." C. hr2t.ciQ^d,ta, Moench. Supp., 103. 



Description. The general appearance of this plant is like that of C. Vitalba ; 



but it is less robust in all its parts, and less ligneous in its stems and branches ; 



and it is also somewhat more tender. Miller states that, on this last account, 



