670 VITIS 



and vigorous. It is a climber with hairy young stems, swollen at the joints. 

 Leaves composed of three leaflets, the middle one of which is shortly 

 stalked, narrowly oval, tapered at both ends, especially towards the point; 

 side lobes stalkless, unequal at each side of the midrib, sometimes with a lobe 

 on the lower side and oblique at the base. All are coarsely toothed, roughish 

 above, downy (at least when young) on the veins beneath. Leaflets from 

 i^ to 4 ins. long, | to i^ ins. wide (larger on vigorous young plants). Fruits 

 described as blue. Young shoots and leaf-stalks pinkish. Native of 

 W. China. 



V. FLEXUOSA, Thunberg. 



A slender-stemmed, elegant climber; shoots smooth, or downy only when 

 quite young. Leaves roundish ovate and heart-shaped at the base, or 

 triangular and truncate at the base, often contracted at the apex to a slender 

 point; amongst the smallest in the genus, being ordinarily 2 to 3^ ins. across, 

 of thin firm texture ; smooth and glossy above, downy on the veins and in the 

 vein-axils beneath. Inflorescence slender, 2 to 6 ins. long. Fruits about the 

 size of a pea, black. 



Native of Japan, Corea, and China ; long cultivated in gardens, but 

 recently brought more prominently into notice by new forms introduced 

 from China. It is a variable species, but the typical form is known by 

 its quite small, unlobed (or indistinctly three-lobed) leaves, smooth and very 

 glossy above. 



Var. WILSONI, Vcitck. Leaves rarely more than 3 ins. long, scarcely as 

 wide, deep lustrous bronzy green above, purple beneath when young. One of 

 the most dainty in appearance of all vines. Introduced from Central China 

 by Wilson for Messrs Veitch in 1900. t 



A vine is cultivated as "V. flexuosa var. major," but is wrongly assigned 

 to this species. It has leaves twice or thrice the size of those of ordinary 

 flexuosa, three-lobed and coarsely toothed, woolly beneath, reddish when 

 young, changing to deep lustrous green at maturity, and finally, before 

 falling, to purple and crimson. Rehder has lately named it V. PULCHRA. 



V. HENRYANA, Hemsley. 



(Parthenocissus Henryana, Graebner ; Psedera Henryana, C. K. Schneider.') 



A vigorous deciduous climber, with sharply four-angled stems free from 

 down; tendrils forked, ending in disks by which it adheres to flat surfaces. 

 Leaves composed of three to five leaflets borne on a stalk \\ to 4^ ins. long. 

 Leaflets obovate, oblanceolate, or narrowly oval, slender-pointed, tapered at 

 the base to a short stalk, coarsely toothed except near the base; i^ to 5 ins. 

 long, one-third to one-half as wide; dark velvety green, variegated with 

 silvery white and pink along the midrib and primary veins, which are slightly 

 downy beneath. The green part turns red in autumn. Inflorescence a 

 terminal leafy panicle of cymes up to 6 or 7 ins. long. 



Native of Central Chii\a; discovered by Henry about 1885; introduced by 

 Wilson for Messrs Veitch in 1900. It is'a remarkably handsome vine closely 

 allied to the true Virginian creeper, and having the same power of attaching 

 itself to walls, etc., by means of its disk-tipped tendrils. It thrives quite 

 well against a wall or where it gets a little shelter, but fully exposed in the 

 open it is not quite hardy. A large batch of year-old plants were killed in 

 the winter of 1908-9 at Kew. Its variegation is better defined on a north- 

 west or even north wall, than on a south wall. 



