138 FAMILIAR FLOWERS OP FIELD AND GARDEN. 



creeper {Ampelopsis quinquefolia), which is a five- 

 leafed vine. In the hills of New Hampshire the cold 

 winters prevent any woody growth of the poison ivy, 

 and the vine trails at one's feet over meadow and 

 roadside ; but near Boston I have seen stone walls 

 covered with the woody branches which had attained 

 a tall and shrnblike appearance. lu autumn the clus- 

 ters of small gray berries are rather decorative, and 

 the leaves turn a pretty red. I have more than once 

 found the witch-hazel {HamamieUs Yirginica) grow- 

 ing side by side with the ivy. 



The beautif al clematis vine hangs in 

 Clematis, or ° 



Virgin's Bower, festoons from the trees, and covers 



Clematis the stonc walls beside the roads which 



Virginiania. /. n ,i . ,i 



toJlow the river courses among the 

 hills of New Hampshire. For that matter it grows 

 everywhere, and is quite as common in the Berkshire 

 country and in the vicinity of northern New Jersey. 

 The little flower has four greenish- white sepals which 

 look like petals, and a great number of stamens ; it 

 grows in beautiful, graceful clusters. In the fall the 

 gray plumes of the flowers gone to seed are very 

 striking, and the hoary appearance of the vine at 

 this season suggested the name old man's beard. The 

 vine supports itself by a twist in the leaf stem ; it is 

 curious to note the turn of these stems, which actually 

 revolve in as short a space of time as the tips of 



