Creepers an& Dines. 259 



The Bryony (Bryonia dioica) is a tuberous-rooted 



plant of a b a t > i t almost similar to the preceding one, with 

 five-lobed leaves and white flowers iu summer. It is well 

 worthy of cultivation and may lie grown with success in 

 hedge-rows or thickets in a moderately good soil. The 



slender stems die down annually but the root is hardy. 



THE AKALIA FAMILY. 



Ivy, Hedera Hdix. — This is without doubt the best and 

 most useful climber in places where it is hardy. It may 

 be grown with success on northern walls, as it generally 

 suffers more from the sun in winter than from the cold. 

 Iu Europe, it grows iu the extreme North, generally in 

 deciduous or evergreen woods where it finds a slight pro- 

 tection. It is found in innumerable varieties in most Euro- 

 pean countries, some growing on the trunks of trees in 

 sunny positions, others in deep shade. Where it cannot be 

 grown with success in exposed positions it is useful for cov- 

 ering the ground under large shade-trees or in shrubberies. 

 Some of the smaller varieties are exceptionally beautiful in 

 rockeries. The leaves are generally five-lobed, thick and 

 leathery, evergreeu. but differ greatly in size and shape. 

 There are also many beautiful forms with variegated foliage 

 turning more or less reddish in winter or spring. AVheu 

 old, the ivy flowers freely and has then a unique appearance, 

 as it is almost covered with headlike clusters of creamy 

 white flowers. The leaves are not lobed on flowering shoots 

 but entire and of an ovate outline. The best varieties are 

 1 'anaru nsis, with large, shining-green foliage, also called 

 Irish ivy ; Roegneriana, with large, broadly cordate leaves; 



