QUISQUALIS INDICA. 



RANGOON CREEPER. 



NATURAL ORDER, COMBRETACE^. 



ERHAPS one of the most striking features in Indian horticulture 

 is the number and variety of cHmbers that are to be found 

 growing in the greatest luxuriance and profusion all over the 

 country. 



In the accompanying plate is exhibited one of the commonest and, 

 at the same time, one of the loveliest of these climbers. 



It is very luxuriant and rampant in its growth, and requires a strong 

 support, as well as constant and severe pruning. 



To all Anglo-Indians this specimen will be well known, used, as it 

 often is, to form a screen to an ugly wall or offensive paling, on account 

 of its being always green and possessing dense foliage. 



It is at its best during the hot season, when it affords a beautiful 

 spectacle with its masses of bloom, which, hanging in clusters of rich 

 profusion, completely conceal its trunk and branches. The clusters 

 droop a long way from the parent stem. 



This climber, when left long unchecked, will grow to a great height, 

 and has been known to cover the tops of high trees, where the loveliness 

 of its blossoms, mingling with the foliage of those trees over which it 

 roams, becomes greatly enhanced by force of contrast. 



From the plate it will be seen that the leaves grow in pairs down 

 the stems, the end ones being of a dark brown or chocolate colour, 

 whilst the general tint of the leaves is that of a heavy, dull green. They 

 are also rough and slightly hairy to the touch. 



One of the great peculiarities and sources of beauty of the plant 

 is that the flowers vary in tint. When first open in the early morning 

 they are a creamy white, but as they fade they turn crimson scarlet, so 

 that when the two are combined the beauty of the whole may be more 

 easily imagined than described. 



A young tendril or shoot has also been represented in the illustra- 

 tion, and it is worthy of notice that the young leaves have the same 

 reddish hue before alluded to. 



The scent of the Quisqualis is very sweet, but it is not always agree- 

 able near a house, and many persons on this account object to the 

 cultivation of it in their gardens It is very powerful and is perceptible 

 at a great distance. 



Chinese Honevsuckle or Rangoon Creeper are both names by which 

 it is known. 



In the neighbourhood of Calcutta the flowers are much larger, and 

 wear a handsomer appearance than in other parts of India, which proves 

 that a damp, moist climate is conducive to its perfection. 



The seeds of the plant are often used as a medicine. 



