1164 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



till June. It was introduced in 1800 ; and, though com- 

 monly grown only as an ornamental shrub, yet. might 

 be cultivated for its fruit, which is produced in very 

 great abundance, is agreeable to the taste, and makes 

 excellent tarts. There are plants at White Knights 

 upwards of 10ft. high, and there are others in the 

 Knaphill Nursery 6 ft. high, which produce abun- 

 dance of fruit every year. All the culture required is, 

 to place the plants in sandy peat, or in peat and leaf 

 mould, kept moist. There seems to be a good deal 

 of confusion, in British gardens, between this species 

 and the following one, and we have not been able to 

 satisfy ourselves on the subject. All that we can 

 state with certainty is, that there are plants bearing 

 the name of V. yirctostaph\los in Loddiges's arbore- 

 tum, and the other places mentioned, which answer to the description 

 given, and are well worth cultivating for their fruit. 



ft 22. F. (? A.) padifo'lu M Smith. The Bird-cherry-lcaved Bear's Grape. 



Whortleberry. 



Identification. Smith in Recs's Cycl., No. 2°. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 8."i4. ; Lodd. Cat, ed. 1836. 

 Syr'onymes. V. ArcXoftk\t\\y\oi Amir. Bot. Rep., t^tVi)., Curt. Bot. .Vo^., t. 974. ; V. madercnse Lin* 



Enum., p. 375. ; V. caucinticum Hurt. ; V. cadifbliuni cauc6.sicura Hort. Soc. Cat. of Fruit edit 



1826, p. 203. 

 Engravings. Andr. Bot. Rep., t. 30. ; Curt. Bot. Mag., t, 974. ; and out figs. 985,986. 



Spec. C'/iar., ^c. Racemes lateral. Bracteas all at the base of the pedicels. 

 Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, serrulated, smooth on both sur'aces, except 

 the midrib. iStamens nearly as long as the bell-shaped corolla, 

 with smooth, slightly fringed filaments. Calyx 5-lobed. Co- 

 rollas larger than those of /'. ylrctosta[)hylos, 

 pale green, with a purple tinge: sometimes 

 it appears to be all over purple externally. 

 {Duns Aim., iii. p. 8^4-.") The Caucasian 

 plant, discovered by Pallas, is said not to 

 differ from that of Madeira. Pallas says 

 the berries are black, juicy, eatable, and grate- 

 9bo H fully acid; and he sometimes found the' 



flowers 4-cleft. A shrub, from fJft. to 10 ft 

 high ; a native of Madeira, on the loftiest parts of the island, 

 where it forms impenetrable thickets. It was introduced in 1777, and flowers 

 from June till August. From observing the plants of this alleged species, of 

 large size, in the Knaphill Nursery, in the Hammersmith Nursery, and in 

 the Horticultural Society's Garden, we are inclined to think that it is no- 

 thing more than a variety of V. Jrctostiiphylos. 



A. Leaves evergreen. 



a. Flowers racemose. 



m 23. V. caracasa\m"m H. B. ct Kunth. The Caraccas Whortleberry. 



Identification. H. B. et Kunth Nov. Gen. Amer., 3. p. 266. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 855. 



Spec. Char., ^c. Racemes axillan-, twice as long as the leaves. Flowers secund, octandrous or 

 decandrous. Leaves elliptic, acute, crenulatcd, coriaceous, glabrous, shining above. Anthers 

 2 horned on the back. Branchlcts angular, glabrous. I^eaves shining above, !' — 10 lines long. 

 Racemes crowded at the tops of the branches. Corolla campanulate, glabrous, n ddish white, with 

 a 4 — ."i.parted limb. Segments ovate, acutish. Filaments membranous, ciliated. (Don's Mi//., iii 

 p. 85,5.) It is a native of the southern declivity of Mount Silla de Caraccas, where it is a shrub, 

 tiowering in May and June. It was introduced in 1825. 



a. 24. V. Ti'tis iDiE^ L. The Mount Ida Whortleberry, or Cmvbeirt/. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 500. ; Eng. Fl. 2. p. 220. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 8.«. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836l 



Si/nonymes. TUis idje'a riibra Cam. Epit., t'M. ; the red Whortleberry. 



Engravings. Lodd. Bot. Cab., 1 1023. ; Eng. Bot, t 598. ; Fl. Dan., t. 40. ; and our^f^. 987. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Racemes terminal, drooping with ovate concave bracteas, 

 which are longer than the pedicels. Leaves obovate, revolute, minutely 

 toothed, dotted beneath. Corolla bell-shaped. Root creeping, woody. 



986 



