VIRGIN'S BOWER 135 



Virgin's Bower is the only English species, 

 and is so called on account of its being used 

 for covering bowers. It is also known as 

 Traveller's Joy, probably because of its being, 

 in winter, among the most conspicuous and 

 ornamental of wayside plants, often covering 

 hedges for a considerable distance with its 

 feathery seed-vessels. The flowers are greenish- 

 white, and, as already stated, they are destitute 

 of perfume. 



From the feathery appearance of the seed- 

 vessels, resembling grey hair, the plant is 

 sometimes known by a third name, Old Man's 

 Beard. 



The section shows the vine-like herbaceous 

 or woody stem of Clematis vitalba. Beginning 

 at the centre, we have the cellular tissue of 

 the pith ; then the fibro-vascular bundles with 

 air cells. Around the margin is the beautiful 

 structure of the cortical parenchyma. 



The illustration (Fig. 40) is from a photo- 

 micrograph of 40 diameters ; the focal distance 

 was 36 inches; and the objective used was 

 the 1-inch. 



