WISTARIA 681 







great dimensions for a climber, and on some of the older plants in this 

 country are over 5 ft. in circumference. The branches, which are covered 

 with silky down when young, support themselves by twining round whatever 

 support is available. Leaves pinnate, 10 to 12 ins. long, consisting usually 

 of eleven leaflets, which are elliptical or ovate, deep rich green and smooth 

 above, somewhat hairy beneath, especially on the midrib; i^ to 4 ins. long, 

 ^ to i^ ins. wide ; increasing in size towards the end of the leaf. Racemes 

 B to 12 ins. long, produced in May from the buds of the previous season's 

 growth. Flowers mauve or lilac-coloured, borne singly on stalks ^ to f in. 

 long;. each flower is about I in. long, pea-flower shaped, with a fine," rounded 

 standard petal | in. wide. Pod rather like that of a kidney bean, 5 or 6 ins. 

 long, club-shaped, ff in. wide towards the end, tapering gradually towards 

 the base, covered with a velvety pile, and containing two or three seeds. 



Native of N. China; first introduced in 1816 from a garden in Canton. 

 No climber ever brought to this country has added more to the beauty 

 of gardens. It flowers towards the end of May, and there is frequently a 

 second smaller crop in August. It is as remarkable for its rapid growth as 

 for its wealth of blossom. Where wall space is available, it will extend 

 forty yards or more from each side of the stem. In full blossom, when 

 every twig is garnished with pale lilac flowers, few plants are so lovely. It 

 may be used in several ways; the commonest is as a wall plant on houses, 

 also as a pergola plant, and for covering arches. At Kew, an old specimen 

 which up to 1860 grew on a house there, was trained over a large iron cage 

 erected for it when the house was demolished; it was old then, but is still 

 a fine feature. On the Continent, especially in Italy, it is frequently planted 

 so as to overrun large trees; in such a way it makes gorgeous displays there 

 in April. When the plant has filled its destined space, it becomes necessary 

 to prune the long, slender shoots back to within an inch or two of the older 

 wood; otherwise it soon becomes an inextricable tangle. This is done in 

 late summer. This Wistaria may also be treated as a shrub, 5 to 8 ft. high, 

 by an annual hard pruning. Seed is only ripened in unusually hot years. 



Var. ALBA has white flowers; ALBA PLENA has them double as well as 

 white; neither of these flower as well as the type. 



Var. FLORE PLENO. In this the flowers are lilac, but owing to the stamens 

 becoming transformed into petals, they lose their pea-flower shape and 

 become rosettes. To my mind, this spoils rather than improves the flower, 

 and the plant does not blossom so freely. Introduced from Japan to 

 America, about 1863, and thence to England. 



Var. FOLIIS VARIEGATIS. Leaflets blotched with white. Not a desirable 

 plant. 



W. FRUTESCENS, DC Candolle. 



(Glycine frutescens, Linnceus ; Bot. Mag., t. 2013.) 



A deciduous climber, spreading 30 to 40 ft. from its base, and enveloping 

 trees and shrubs in its wild state; young shoots yellowish. Leaves pinnate, 

 7 to 12 ins. long, with four and a half to seven and a half pairs of leaflets of 

 nearly uniform size; ovate, ii to 2^ ins. long, up to i ins. wide; slightly 

 downy only when young. Racemes~terminal on the shoots of the year, very 

 downy, 4 to 6 ins. long, the shorter ones erect. Flowers much crowded, 

 fragrant, each about f in. long, pale lilac-purple, with a yellow spot; calyx 

 slenderly bell-shaped, in. long, downy, with five short triangular teeth, and 

 like the flower-stalk, downy. Pod smooth, much more cylindrical and 

 swollen where the seeds are fixed, than in the Asiatic species. Seeds also 

 rounder. 



Native of the south-eastern United States; introduced in 1724. It is not 

 so strong a grower as either W. chinensis or W. multijuga, nor does it ever 



II 2X 



