236 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART I) 



Bindwith, the common Virgin's Bower, the wild Climber, the great wild Climber; Clematite 

 brulante, Clematite des Haies, l'Herbe aux Gueux, la Viome des Pauvres, Fr. ; Geineine Wald- 

 rebe, Ger. 



Derivation. This plant was called Fitis sylvestris (the wood vine) by Dioscorides ; and the name of 

 Vitalba was given to it by Dodonams, probably on account of the white appearance of the plant 

 when covered with its seeds in autumn, which whiteness arises from the hairy tails of the carpels. 

 It was called C. latifolia by Ray and Bauhin, from its broad-leaved variety ; Vi6rna by L'Obel 

 and others, from via, a way, and ornare, to ornament, in allusion to its ornamental appearance 

 by the way side ; and Fitis nigra by Fuchsius, from the dark colour of the bark of its young shoots. 

 Gerard gave it the name of the Traveller's Joy ; because;of its " decking and adorning'the ways and 

 hedges where people travel ; and thereupon," he says, " I have named it the traveller's joy." 

 {Herbal, by Johnson, p. 886.) The name of Old Man's Beard is very appropriate to the white and 

 hairy appearance of the tails of the carpels ; and Bindwith, from the shoots being used instead of 

 those of willows for tying up p'ants. The French name of Clematite brulante has reference to the 

 acrid properties of the plant; and Clematite des Haies to its growing generally in hedges. The 

 name of l'Herbe aux Gueux refers to the employment of it by the beggars in France, who use it to 

 make ulcers in their arms and legs, for the purpose of exciting compassion, curing themselves after, 

 wards by the application of the leaves of the beet. La Viorne des Pauvres alludes to the same 

 practice, viorne being evidently derived from Vi6rna. {Diet. Gin. des Eaux et Forits, 1. p. 649.) 



Engravings. Jacq. Austr., 4. t. 308. ; Eng. Bot., 612.; Willd. Abr., t. 113.; and our fig. 12. 



Spec. Char. Leaves pinnate, leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, 

 at the base, partly cut. Peduncles forked, shorter than the leaves. 

 Mill., i. p. 4.) Flowers white. From July to September. Britain. 

 20 ft. 



Varieties. 



1 c 



1 c 



cordate 

 {Don's 

 Height 



2 V. integrdta. The entire-leaved White Vine Clematis, 

 virginidna L., to be hereafter described, is considered by some to be 

 only a variety of C. Vitalba. It was cultivated under the name of 

 C. canadensis by Miller, who says that "it is very like the common 

 sort, but with broader leaves, and rather more tender, the seeds 

 not ripening in England unless the season be very warm." 

 Description. The stems are woody, 



more so than those of any other 



species, angular, climbing to the 



height of 20 ft. or 30 ft. or upwards, 



and hanging down from rocky cliffs, 



ruins, or the branches of trees ; or 



being supported by, and forming tufts 



on, the upper surface of other shrubs, 



or low trees, which they often so 



completely cover as to have the ap- 

 pearance of bushes at a distance. 



The footstalks of the leaves are 



twined about whatever object they 



approach, and afterwards become 



hard and persistent, like the tendrils 



of a vine. The leaves are either 



quite entire, or unequally cut ; 



sometimes very coarsely so. The 



panicles are axillary and terminal, 



many-flowered and downy. The 



flowers are of a greenish-white colour 



with little show; but they have a 



sweet almond-like scent. " The 



seeds," Smith observes, " have long, 



wavy, feathery, and silky tails, forming beautiful tufts, most conspicuous in 



wet weather. [The water on the twigs and branches, which form the back 



ground to the carpels, rendering them darker than they are in dry weather.] 



They retain their vegetative principle for many years, if kept dry." {Eng. 



Flora, iii. p. 39.) 



Geography. C. Vitalba is found throughout the middle and south of 



Europe, in the Grecian Archipelago, and in the north of Africa, about Tripoli. 



One or more varieties of it have been found in North America, and apparently 



another in Nepal. (See Dec. Sysi., i. p. 140.) The topography of this plant in 



Britain, according to H. C.Watson, extends to Devonshire in the south, and 



">.'* north latitude. According to some, it is found in Scotland ; but Gerard, 



