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CVI.riVATIOX AXD AXALVSIS OF PLAXTS. 



CLIMBERS. 

 Climbers proper are such as send out coiled tendrils, an inch or more in length, by 

 which thej- lay hold of either projection or crevice, to sustain themselves as they climb. 

 They, however, sometimes dispense with these tendrils when a natural support for the 

 main stems has been already attained; as, for instance, when a long shoot has reached the 

 summit of a house, tree, or other horizontal or nearly horizontal surface. Among them 

 the most deservedly popular are perhaps the following: 



Passiflora Fordii. — Ford's Passion-flower, so called in honor of a celebrated English florist of that 

 name, is one of the prettiest and every way most desirable of the true climbers, being larger than the 

 older type, P. coerulea (p. 233), and more easily cultivated. It is preeminently a parlor plant, surpassing 

 anything of the kind that has been introduced for years; it -w-ill, however, like most climbers, do well 

 outdoors from early summer until frost. The very remarkable shape and appearance of the blossom, 

 from which the generic name Passion-flower is derived, is still more conspicuously beautiful and well- 

 marked in this variety, which has most probably been hybridized from the old P. coerulea and the later P. 

 trifasciata. 



Clematis virgilliaiia. The common Wild Virgin's Bower is known scientifically by this name, and 

 it is among the finest of outdoor climbers, being well adapted to conceal unsightly objects in a lawn, yard 

 or garden. (See "Deformities Concealed," page 333.) It is covered with large clusters of white flowers 

 in July and August, which are followed by a crop of the large, plumose, grayish tufts that envelop tlie 

 seeds, making the plant appear as if short wool-clippings had been spread all over it, thus constituting 

 a very singular object in a collection. 



Clematis Sieboldii, originating in Japan and introduced thence by the well-known traveler whose 

 name it bears, has very large blossoms of an azurc-lilue color, not unlike those of the Passion-flower. It 

 is a rapid grower, and flowers constantly indoors, and, in tropical climates, out of doors. 



Clematis Jackmanni, so called fi-om a florist of that name, is a hybrid from the C. Sieboldii and 

 some other species of Clematis. It has a very large flower of a purplish-blue color, often fi\e or six 

 inches in width. The flowers have unusually long footstalks; hence they stand away from the stems 

 and leaves, giving the plant quite a graceful and unique appearance. 



Clematis John Gonld Veitch, or '• Double Blue Clematis," is perhaps the climax of beauty and 

 grace in the Clematis tribe. The flowers are not only double and of a fine azurehlue, but they last 

 longer than the others, often remaining for several weeks; and a well-grown plant sometimes gives the 

 appearance of a string of blue balls, reaching from the base to the summit. 



There are perhaps not less than forty other species or varieties of the beautiful Clem- 

 atises, all in cultivation, which may be procured from any first-class florist. 



Cobaea SCandens, or Climbing Cobjea, is an extremely handsome climbing plant, with large, pinnate 

 leaves, producing a dark-purple flower not unlike that of the Foxglove in shape, and blooms ail summer 

 out of doors. Indoois it will bloom throughout the winter. There is a variegated sort which has the 

 added attraction of \arying colors in the leafage, sometimes the leaflets on one leafstalk being entirely 

 white, while those on the next will be the usual green. 



EccremocarpilS scaber, literally Rough Hanging-fruit, is a very beautiful climber; its leaves resem- 

 ble some of the Ferns or the Meadow Rue, and it has a flower which is a dull red on the top,-and a light 

 yellow at the bottom. The plant grows rapidly in a warm atinosphere, in or our of doors. 



Cucnrbitacese, or Gourd Family, comprise many beautiful climbers (see Lagenaria vulgaris, p. 147: 

 Echinocystis lobata, p. 333). They are hisjlily ornamental both in fruit and foli.age, and admirably adapted 

 to hiding unsightly places. 



TWINERS. 



Under this term are inchided such plants as do not shoot out tendrils like the climbers 

 proper, hut wuid or twine their stems or leaves arounil supports as they motnit upward. 



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