VITIS 675 



V. QUINQUEFOLIA, Lamarck. TRUE VIRGINIA CREEPER. 



(V. hederacea, Ehrhart ; Psedera quinquefolia, Greene ; Parthenocissus quinq., Planchon.} 



A tall, deciduous climber, reaching to the tops of lofty trees, free from 

 down in all its parts; stems slender, reddish at first, clinging to its support 

 by means of a disk at the end of each branch of the tendril. Leaves 

 composed of five leaflets (sometimes three) radiating from the end of a 

 common stalk I to 4 ins. long. Leaflets oval to obovate, i to 4 ins. long, 

 to i\ ins. wide, slenderly pointed, tapered at the base to a stalk \ to \ in. 

 long, coarsely toothed except at the base; dull green above, pale and rather 

 glaucous beneath. Inflorescence several times forked, the final subdivisions 

 terminated by an umbel of three to eight flowers. Fruit globose, about 

 j in. diameter, blue-black. 



Native of Eastern N. America from New England southwards to Florida; 

 introduced in 1629; originally named Hedera quinquefolia by Linnaeus. It 

 is one of the finest of all climbers, its leaves turning a rich crimson before 

 they fall. As it clings of itself to walls and tree trunks it is very useful. 

 But, very strangely, it had, until a few years ago, become quite scarce in 

 cultivation, having been replaced by V. vitacea, a species without the sucker 

 disks on the tendrils, and therefore not able to attach itself to flat surfaces. 

 The true plant has comparatively recently been reintroduced under the 

 names of " muralis " and " Engelmannii." At Kew, without artificial suppcrt, 

 it has climbed the naked trunks of lofty pine trees and reached the top. 



Var. HIRSUTA (Ampelopsis hirsuta, Donri}. A distinct variety, sometimes 

 regarded as a separate species, with hairy shoots, leaf-stalks, leaflets (both 

 surfaces), and inflorescence. Native of the south-eastern United States. 



Var. ST PAULII. Young shoots, leaf-stalks, and under-surface of leaflets 

 as well as the midrib above clothed with down of a finer nature than in 

 var. hirsuta, from which it also differs in the sharper, deeper teeth, and in 

 being a better wall-climber. 



V. ROMANETI, Du Caillaud. 



A vigorous, deciduous climber; young shoots downy, and mixed with the 

 down are numerous gla.nd-tipped, stiff, erect bristles. Leaves of firm texture, 

 three-lobed with a deep, narrow opening where the stalk is attached, 

 shallowly toothed, each tooth ending in a bristle-like tip; 6 to 10 ins. long; 

 4 to 7 ins. wide; upper surface slightly downy on the nerves, or almost 

 smooth and dark green; lower surface covered with a dense grey felt, with 

 the midrib and veins hairy, a few large gland-tipped bristles mixed with 

 the hairs. Stalk one-third to one-half as long as the blade, with a mixture 

 of down and glandular bristles as on the shoot, but with the bristles more 

 numerous. Fruit black, \ to \ in. diameter. 



Native of China; introduced about 1881, and one of the finest of the true 

 vines except that it is rather tender in a young state, and until the main 

 stem becomes quite woody. From V. armata it is very distinct in the felted 

 under-surface of the leaves, and it is not possible to confuse it with any 

 other species. 



V. ROTUNDIFOLIA, Michaux. SOUTHERN FOX GRAPE. 



A vigorous, deciduous climber, with stems up to 90 ft. in length, in a wild 

 state, the bark adhering (not shredding); young shoots warted; tendrils 

 unbranched. Leaves broadly ovate or roundish, always broadly heart-shaped 

 at the base, pointed; 2 to 4^ ins. long and wide ; of firm texture, seldom 



