332 THE GRAPE FAMILY. 



leaflets ovate, long pointed at the apex; mostly sharply and deeply serrate; bright 

 green and lustrous above, very slightly pubescent on the veins below. An ascend- 

 ing vine. 



Vigorous and strong as is mostly the growth of this plant, it can hardly 

 be said to climb ; frequently even it shows its inabiUty to do so by being al- 

 together without tendrils. This we notice the more as it is closely related 

 to the Virginia creeper and the wild, or, fox grape, Vitis Labrusca, which 

 winds itself so delightfully about unresponsive objects and twines its stem 

 in long falling loops. The fruit of the pepper-vine also, while attractive to 

 the eye, is not at all good to eat. 



A. cor data, simple-leaved Ampelopsis,on the contrary, is found climbing 

 strongly over rock and tree by means of its long tendrils. Its large, simple 

 leaves moreover are mostly heart-shaped, 



Parthenocisstis qumquefblia, Virginia creeper, American, or five-leaved 

 ivy, designates the noble vine so abundantly seen throughout the south and 

 which at times climbs by means of its lateral tendrils right to the top of very 

 high trees. That it has five oblong-obovate leaflets, palmately arranged, 

 should be remembered as a simple means of distinguishing it from poison 

 ivy, which has never more than three. 



At Blowing Rock, North Carolina, late in the autumn an abundance of 

 this beautiful climber, then turned to deep and brilliant shades of crimson 

 and abundantly hung with blue berries, had been brought in the hotel to 

 decorate a doorway. Instantly a lively discussion arose among the guests 

 as to whether or not it was poison ivy, and some remarkable stories w^ere 

 told of its power to work harm. It soon fell under the general ban of dis- 

 approval and was carried away regretted by few. 



THE LINDEN FAMILY. 



TilidcecB, 



Trees, herbs or shrubby plants with siiriple, alter7tate, rarely opposite 

 leaves and axillary or generally cyfnose or paniculate flowers the plants 

 bei?ig widely distributed in tropical or warm regions, and chiefly repre- 

 sented in our range by the genus Tilia. 



