400 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 235. 



Climbing Plants in the Pines. 



WE have two distinct forms of Ampelopsis in the Pines. 

 One has larger leaves tlian the other, of a hsrhter green, 

 and tlie venation is much more marked in the larger form, 

 wliile the llowers, which appear early in June, are about the 

 color of Grape-blossoms. The smaller-leaved one begins to 

 flower about the middle of July and continues in bloom until 

 August. The buds and flowers are a dark purple color. It 

 blossoms much more profusely than tlie other, is quite hand- 

 some, and attracts a great many insects, especially honey-bees. 

 The leaves are very smooth, of a leathery texture, and dark 

 bluish green in color. I found it in the Pines and transplanted 

 it in my garden some five or six years ago, where it now cov- 

 ers a low-headed Apple-tree. I recently sent fresh specimens 

 of both forms to Professor Sargent, who says of the late-flow- 

 ering Ampelopsis " that it is certainly a curious-looking vine 

 and ought to be transplanted to the Arboretum to see how it 

 will beliave there." 



What a pity that Rhus Toxicodendron is poisonous. It is 

 often confounded with Ampelopsis by those not versed in the 

 scientific knowledge of plants. Others more observing, but 

 not learned in botany, call both vines Ivy. Ampelopsis is the 

 Five-leaved Ivy and not poisonous, while the other is called 

 Three-leaved Ivy (Mercury), and known to be poisonous to 

 many people. But how handsome it is in the Pines, clothing 

 old decaying trees with thick overlapping foliage. 



The wild Grape-vines, too, are handsome. One large vine 

 often forms a sort of arbor by clambering over the tops of two 

 or three small trees. Nothing can be more charming than 

 these bowers often are ; sometimes, however, the rampant 

 vigor of the vine overburdens and oppresses the trees which 

 support it in a way that excites our pity. 



Very fragrant, too, with a spicy distinctness quite their own, 

 are the blossoms of these wild Grapes. It has a genuine North 

 American odor, and belongs as truly to this western world as 

 does the breath of Indian Corn-tassels in an August evening. 

 Compared with it the odor of garden Grape-flowers is fame 

 and spiritless. 



The Virgin's Bower (Clematis Virginiana), the most graceful 

 of our wild vines, is now covering wayside shrubs with its 

 snowy bloom, and its downy gray seed-clusters will be still 

 more beautiful until late in autumn. 



I occasionally see the Trumpet Creeper (Tecoma radicans) 

 in damp places in the Pines and along country road-sides ; 

 but whether the winged seeds have been wafted from culti- 

 vated plants, or whether it is truly indigenous here as it is in 

 Pennsylvania and in the southern states, I cannot tell. I only 

 know that I never saw it in the early days of our settlement. 

 But when planted it grows most luxuriantly and has to be kept 

 in check, or it would soon swamp everything in its neigh- 

 borhood. 



The Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens) clambers about here 

 and there in damp places, becoming very decorative in au- 

 tumn, when its orange-colored pods open and show the bright 

 scarlet seeds. The Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera semper- 

 virens) we also find, and it is almost evergreen with us. It is 

 a handsome vine both in flower and fruit, and is quite exten- 

 sively cultivated ; but for the past few years it has been so 

 badly infested with aphides that almost everybody has discarded 

 it here. Strangely enough, I have never found the wild plants 

 molested by these insects. 



The Smilax must not be forgotten. Indeed, one who has 

 attempted to penetrate our damp thickets will not be likely to 

 forget it. S. rotundifolia and S. tamnoides are the most to be 

 dreaded. The tangled masses, armed with stout prickles, 

 climbing triumphantly over shrubs and trees, completely bar 

 the way to many choice plants. And yet how handsome one 

 of these plants can be made, especially S. tamnoides, with its 

 bright shining evergreen leaves and clusters of black berries 

 that remain all winter. And S. Waited is also found here. 

 This, too, has evergreen leaves, coral-red berries, and few or 

 no prickles. It is a charming vine, andshould be in cultivation. 



Our Wild Yam is a graceful vine, neat and pretty, much 

 more delicate than the Chinese Yam, which is sent out under 

 the name of Cinnamon Vine. The Canadian Moonseed (Men- 

 ispermum Canadense) is another delicate twiner, with pretty 

 foliage and curious large stony seeds in the form of a cres- 

 cent. Apios tuberosa is everywhere in the damp Pines, trail- 

 ing over shrubs and bushes. In August and September it 

 has thick, compact, dense racemes of brownish purple pea- 

 shaped blossoms which are quite fragrant. But it spreads 

 rapidly by underground stems, which are strung with round- 

 ish tubers, each tuber sending up twining stems. 



We have one twiner in the Composite family — Mikania 



scandens — which we find in damp places, climbing over 

 bushes. It has heart-shaped leaves and panicles of pinkish 

 colored flowers. It begins to bloom in July, and I have often 

 found good clusters of flowers as late as October. 



Some three or four species of the curious twining leafless 

 Dodder are in the Pines. These plants start in life like all 

 well-behaved vines, taking their nourishment, as in duty 

 bound, from mother earth, but they soon become demoral- 

 ized, yielding to temptation and let go their hold of earth and 

 closely twine around their nearest neighbors, upon whom, 

 like true parasites as they are, they henceforth wholly depend 

 for nourishment and support. 

 Vineland, N. J. Mary Treat. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



New Orchids. 



Cattleya Victoria Regina, O'Brien. — A handsome Cat- 

 tleya, allied to C. Leopoldii, vi^ith large rosy purple flowers. 

 The lip is three-lobed. It was imported by Messrs. F. San- 

 der & Co., of St. Albans, and was awarded a first-class cer- 

 tificate by the Royal Horticultural Societ}'' on May 3d last. 

 It is described in the Gardeners' Chronicle for May 7th, p. 

 568, and figured in the same work on June 25th, pp. 808, 

 809, tigs. 115, 116. 



Odontoglossum Andersonianum pulcherrimum, O'Brien. — 

 A brightly colored form of the very variable series of 

 natural hybrids between O. crispum and O. gloriosum, 

 which are variously known in gardens under the names of 

 O. Andersonianum, O. Ruckerianum and O. hebraicum. 

 It may be briefly described as a darkly colored O. Rucker- 

 ianum. It flowered in the collection of R. B. White, Esq., 

 of Arddarroch, Scotland. — Gardeners' Chronicle, May 7th, 

 p. 586. 



Odontoglossum platycheilum, Weathers. — A distinct and 

 elegant species, with large, rather flat, white flowers, the 

 lip being beautifully spotted with rosy purple. It flowered 

 in the collection of R. I. Measures, Esq., of Camberwell, 

 and received an award of merit from the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society on March 22d last. Strange to say, nothing 

 is known of its origin, the only plant knovt'ii having been 

 acquired at the sale of the Downside collection. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, May 7th, p. 587, fig. 84. 



L,elio-Cattleya X Phcebe, Hort. — A handsome hybrid 

 raised from Cattleya Mossice crossed with the pollen of 

 Lselia cinnabarina. The flowers are of a rich Indian yel- 

 low, with the middle lobe of the lip deep purplish crimson. 

 It was exhibited by Norman C. Cookson, Esq., of Wylam- 

 on-T}me, at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 on May 3d last, and was awarded a first-class certificate. — 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, May 7th, p. 598, also June i8th, p. 

 781, fig. 114. 



L^LiA X Latona, Hort. — A handsome hybrid raised from 

 Laelia cinnabarina crossed with the pollen of L. purpurata. 

 It is like a small form of the latter, with deep yellow sepals 

 and petals, and a dark crimson lip. It was exhibited at a 

 meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on May 3d last, 

 and received a first-class certificate. — Gardeners' Chronicle, 

 May 7th, p. 598, also June iSth, p. 791, fig. 114. 

 Kew. R. A. Rolfe. 



Foreign Correspondence. 



London Letter. 



Aristolochia gigas, var. Sturtevantii, is the great attrac- 

 tion at Kew this summer. It is grown in the Nymphsea- 

 house, trained along the rafters so that the flowers hang 

 over the water. What extraordinary flowers they are ! 

 There were five open one day this week, all very large and 

 richly colored. Visitors are puzzled by them and are 

 sometimes doubtful of their genuineness, as they are 

 sometimes of the Cacti, which are supposed by some to 

 be made of wood and cunningly painted. An artist friend 

 said the Aristolochia-flovi'er was a lady's calico sun-bon- 

 net. We are very grateful to Mr. E. D. Sturtevant for this 



