396 BRECK’S NEW BOOK OF FLOWERS. 
AMPELGPSIS.—Virersian CREEPER. 
(From Greek words signifying « vine and resemblance.] 
Ampelopsis quinquefélia.—Virginian Creeper, Ameri- 
can Woodbine.— This is the most ornamental plant of 
its genus. It recommends itself by its hardiness, the 
rapidity of its growth, and the luxuriance and beauty of 
its foliage. It is anative of our woods, and climbs rocks 
and trees to a great height. In cultivation it is often 
made to cover walls of houses, forty or fifty feet high, 
clinging by suckers which proceed from its tendrils, The 
flower is of a reddish-green, and not showy, and is suc- 
ceeded by clusters of dark-blue, nearly black, berries 
when mature. At the same period the fruit-stalks and 
tendrils assume a rich crimson or red color. 
“The great variety of rich colors, shades of scarlet, 
crimson, and purple, which the leaves and stems of this 
plant assume, and the situations in which we see it, climb- 
ing up the trunks and spreading along the branches of 
trees, covering walls and heaps of stones, forming natural 
festoons from tree to tree, or trained on the sides and 
along the piazzas of dweiling-houses, make it one of the 
conspicuous ornaments of the autumnal months. Often, 
in October, it may be seen mingling its scarlet and orange 
leaves, thirty or forty feet from the ground, with the 
green leaves of the still unchanged tree on which it climb- 
ed.”—(Himerson.) . 
This luxuriant climber is easily propagated by layers 
and cuttings. It flourishes best in a rich, moist soil. 
AMYGDALUS,—Ataonp,—Pxacu. 
(The Greek name for the Almond.] 
Amygdalus nana.—Dwarf Almond.—The double vari- 
ety of this, usually called Flowering Almond, when in 
blossom, is not inferior to any other shrub. It is loaded 
