ORNAMENTAL PALMS 249 



resist the coldest winters, the various species of 

 the genus Ampelopsis take foremost rank. Of 

 these the Japanese Ivy, sometimes known as Bos- 

 ton Ivy (A. Veitchii] and its varieties, is prob- 

 ably the best known and the most extensively 

 grown. For the purpose of covering brick and 

 stone walls it is perhaps the most beautiful of all 

 vines. 



This vine has a close rival, however, in the 

 native species familiar everywhere in the Middle 

 and Eastern States as the Five-Leafed Ivy or 

 Virginia Creeper (A. virginica) . This vine, 

 however, does not cling to flat, smooth surfaces 

 as does the Asiatic species. 



The strains of this vine differ materially in 

 different localities, there being one in particular, 

 named the Engelmanni, which clings to walls 

 and trees better than the ordinary varieties. 

 Vines of this variety are also far ahead of others 

 in their rapidity of growth and in the beauty of 

 their foliage, and especially in their autumn col- 

 oring. Some varieties hold their foliage nearly a 

 month longer than others. 



These variations should be borne in mind in 

 selecting plants for the covering of walls or 

 making of arbors. The wild Ampelopsis vines 

 growing in Colorado are, in my opinion, much 

 superior to those of the Eastern States. 



