254 BERCHEMIA BETULA 



in a terminal, pyramidal panicle 2 to 6 ins. long ; very small, greenish, produced 

 in late summer. Fruit oblong, j in. long, changing from green to red, then to 

 black. 



Native of Japan, where it forms a spreading, tangled shrub, rather than a 

 genuine climber. The foliage is neat and pretty, and when the plant is 

 furnished with its handsome fruits it is both striking and attractive. But it 

 does not produce them with regularity, and I have never seen it so good in this 

 country as in Central France. In Mr de Vilmorin's collection at Les Barres, 

 it bears fruit abundantly. It is a hardier and a better plant than B. volubilis. 

 A variegated form is in cultivation, var. VARIEGATA, whose leaves, especially 

 towards the end of the shoot, are more creamy white than green. 



B. VOLUBILIS, De Candolle. SUPPLE JACK. 



(B. scandens, K. Koch.') 



A deciduous climber, with smooth, twining branches, growing 10 to 15 ft. 

 high (much higher in milder climates). Leaves smooth, oval, \\ to 3 ins. long, 

 not heart-shaped but usually rounded, or broadly wedge-shaped at the base, 

 the apex ending in a bristle-like point, the margins wavy ; veins nine to twelve 

 pairs. Flowers small, greenish white, arranged in racemes I to 2 ins. long, 

 terminating short, side twigs, and in a terminal panicle. Fruits oblong, \ in. 

 long, dark blue, or almost black. 



Native of the southern United States ; introduced in 1 7 14. It does not fill an 

 important place in English gardens, owing to its flowers having little beauty, 

 and its fruits being rarely seen. From the commoner Japanese species it 

 differs in the shape of the leaves, the more numerous veins, and in the smaller 

 inflorescence. It is also a genuine climber, its stems twisting round each other, 

 or anything of convenient size within reach. Not so hardy as B. racemosa. 



BETULA. BIRCH. BETULACE^:. 



The birches are deciduous trees and shrubs with alternate leaves and 

 unisexual flowers produced on catkins, both male and female catkins 

 being borne on the same tree. The male catkins are slender and 

 pendulous, nearly always formed in autumn, but expanding in spring; 

 the flower consists of a calyx and two stamens, and they are produced 

 in threes in the axil of a scale. Female catkins shorter, stiffer; the 

 flowers consisting of an ovary and pistil only, produced (also in threes) 

 in the axil of a deciduous, three -lobed scale. What is here (and 

 commonly) called the seed, is really a tiny nut containing the true seed. 

 It bears a transparent wing at each side, and usually the remains of the 

 two styles at the top. The only other genus of trees with which the 

 birches are likely to be confused are the alders, and they are readily 

 distinguished by the persisting scales of the female catkin, which does 

 not disintegrate like that of the birches, but falls away whole. 



Two of the best known features of the birches are the peculiar bark 

 and frequently white trunks. The bark can often be separated in thin, 

 papery layers, and being impervious to water, is used in other countries 

 for canoe-building and for roofing. The timber, although not as a rule of 

 the best, is put to various minor uses. Some of the Asiatic and American 

 species, however, yield wood of considerable value. An aromatic 

 principle pervades many of the birches, and a fragrant oil is obtained. 



