190 THE VINES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



are 2 to 3 inches long, make it an attractive orna- 

 ment in yards and gardens. This harmless plant has 

 the reputation, with some, of being poisonous. 



Cross Vine (Bignonia capreolata, Linn.) — This, 

 like the preceding, is sometimes called Trumpet 

 Flower. The flowers are of similar form, about 2 

 inches long, but are of a duller red on the outside 

 and yellow within. The leaves are of a dull green, 

 growing in pairs from the end of a common foot- 

 stalk, each leaflet also having its own stalk. This 

 does not climb to so great a height as the other. A 

 cross section of the stem exhibits a portion of its 

 inner structure in the form of a Maltese cross, which 

 gives the name to this plant. Not uncommon in 

 the Lower and Middle Districts. 



Virgin's Bower. (Wistaria frutescens, DC.) 

 — This luxuriant, much admired Climber is found, I 

 think, only in damp rich soils of the Lower District. 

 It stands cultivation remarkably well in the Middle 

 District. The leaves are pinnate, like those of the 

 Locust; and the flowers are of the size and structure 

 of the Garden Pea, purplish-blue, in large pendent 

 compact clusters 4 to 6 inches long. We have no 

 other woody Vine answering to these characters. 

 The stem is exceedingly tough and serves well for 

 withes or ligatures. 



Carolina Jessamine. (Gelsemium sempervi- 

 rens, Ait.) — No plant is more common in the Lower 

 District, but it reaches very little into the Middle. 

 It extends northward into Virginia, but becomes 



