1164- 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III. 



till June. It was introduced in 1800 ; and, though com- 

 monly grown only as an ornamental shrub, yet might 

 be cultivated tor its fruit, which is produced in very 

 great abundance, is agreeable to the taste, and makes 

 excellent tarts. There are plants at White Knights 

 upwards of 10 ft. high, and there are others in the 

 Knaphill Nursery 6 ft. high, which produce abun- 

 dance of fruit every year. All the culture required is, 

 to place the plants in sandy peat, or in peat and leaf 

 mould, kept moist. There seems to be a good deal 

 of confusion, in British gardens, between this species 

 and the following one, and we have not been able to 

 satisfy ourselves on the subject. All that we can 

 state with certainty is, that there are plants bearing 

 the name of V. Jrctostaphylos in Loddiges's arbore- 

 tum, and the other places mentioned, which answer to the description 

 given, and are well worth cultivating for their fruit. 



st 22. V. (? A.) padifo^lium Smith. The Bird-cherry-leaved Bear's Grape. 



Whortleberry. 



Identification. Smith in Rees's Cycl., No. 22. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 854. ; Lodd. Cat, ed. 1836. 

 Synonymes. V. y/rctostaphylos Andr. Bot. Rep., t 30., Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 974. ; V. maderense Link 



Enum., p. 375. ; V. caucasicum Hort. ; V. oadifblium caucasicum Hort. Soc. Cat. of Fruit., edit 



1826, p. 203. 

 Engravings. Andr. Bot. Rep., t. 30. ; Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 974. ; and our figs. 985,986. 



Spec. Char., Src. Racemes lateral. Bracteas all at the base of the pedicels. 

 Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, serrulated, smooth on both surfaces, except 

 the midrib. Stamens nearly as long as the bell-shaped corolla, 

 with smooth, slightly fringed filaments. Calyx 5-lobed. Co- 

 rollas larger than those of V. ^rctostaphylos, 

 pale green, with a purple tinge : sometimes 

 it appears to be all over purple externally. 

 {Don's Mill., iii. p. 854.) The Caucasian 

 plant, discovered by Pallas, is said not to 

 differ from that of Madeira. Pallas says 

 the berries are black, juicy, eatable, and grate- 

 fully acid ; and he sometimes found the ' 

 flowers 4-cleft. A shrub, from 6 ft. to 10 ft 

 high ; a native of Madeira, on the loftiest parts of the island, 986 



where it forms impenetrable thickets. It was introduced in 1777, and flowers 

 from June till August. From observing the plants of this alleged species, of 

 large size, in the Knaphill Nursery, in the Hammersmith Nursery, and in 

 the Horticultural Society's Garden, we are inclined to think that it is no- 

 thing more than a variety of V. Jrctostaphylos. 



A. Leaves evergreen. 



a. Flowers racemose. 



* 23. V. caracasa^num H. B. ct Kunth. The Caraccas Whortleberry. 



Identification. H. B. et Kunth Nov. Gen. Amer., 3. p. 266. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 855. 



Bn - Char., tec. Racemes axillary, twice as long as the leaves. Flowers secund, octandrous or 

 decandrous. Leaves elliptic, acute, crenulated, coriaceous, glabrous, shining above. Anthers 

 2 horned on the back. Branchlets angular, glabrous. Leaves shining above, 9 — 10 lines long. 

 Racemes crowded at the tops of the branches. Corolla campanulate, glabrous, reddish white, with 

 a 4 — 5-parted limb. Segments ovate, acutish. Filaments membranous, ciliated. (Don's Mill., iii. 

 It is a native of the southern declivity of Mount Silla de Caraccas, where it is a shrub, 

 flowering in May and June. It was introduced in 1825. 



n. 24. V. Fi'tis \\>K>k L. The Mount Ida Whortleberry, or Coivberry. 



1,1. „i, Ration. Lin. Sp., 500. ; Eng. Fl. 2. p. 220. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 855. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. 

 Synonumen. ^itis ida.- % a rubra Cam. EpU., 136. ; the red Whortleberry. 



Lodd Bot Cab., 1. 1023. ; Eng. Bot, t. 598. ; Fl. Dan., t 40. ; and ourfig. 987. 



Spec. Char., Sec. Kaccme.s terminal, drooping, with ovate concave bracteas, 

 which arc longer than the pedicels. Leaves obovate, revolute, minutely 

 toothed, (lotted beneath. Corolla bell-shaped. Koot creeping, woody. 



