HARDY ORNAMENTAL VINES. 



391 



both the dry atmosphere and dust of cities, and no plant is more suitable 

 for covering arbours, trellises, verandahs, &c, or for producing in so short 

 a time such wealth of foliage. 



The well-known rich hues of crimson, scarlet, and purple which the 

 leaves of this species assume before they fall in the autumn, are amongst the 

 most brilliant of any in the group, and no description is needed of such a 

 well-known plant, except, perhaps, to draw attention to some of its varieties, 

 which differ from the type in the few particulars indicated by their varietal 

 names. These are hirsuta, hairy on both surfaces of the leaves, which 

 do not colour so well as those of the type ; incisa, with more deeply cut 

 leaves ; major, a large-leaved form; and mural is, a self -clinging or wall- 

 loving form, of exceptional beauty. The last named was formerly con- 

 sidered a species, and known as Ampelopsis Engelmanni, under which 

 name it is still grown in the United States. It differs from the other 

 forms of Virginian Creeper in being self-supporting, firmly clinging to 

 walls by sucker-like tendrils, and in developing even more brilliant tints 

 in autumn. 



Vitis riparia (odoratissima), or, as it is now called, Vitis vulpina, 

 is the 1 Riverside Grape ' of North America, and is one with various forms, 

 to which at different times specific names have been applied. The 

 Vitis odoratissima of Don is the male plant of this species. It is 

 figured in the '-'Botanical Magazine," t. 2429, where it is stated that 

 the female forms are seldom found north of the Potomac river, though 

 the males extend far beyond it. (A similar phenomenon is mentioned 

 regarding the Hop, the males of which are found in many hedgerows, but 

 the females are seldom seen except in cultivation.) This species is remark- 

 able for the delightful fragrance of its flowers, resembling the perfume of 

 Mignonette. The leaves are slightly three-lobed, with unequal serratures, 

 smooth on the upper surface, but the lower, although more shining than 

 the upper, is filled between the veins with a very fine greenish tomentum, 

 and is hairy along the principal veins, petioles, and margins. 



Amongst other North American species in cultivation are Vitis cinerea, 

 the * Sweet-water Grape,' a greyish-green leaved species ; Vitis arizonica, 

 the ' Canon Grape ' of Arizona ; Vitis candicans, the ' Mustang Grape ' of 

 Eastern Texas ; but those described in more detail are the best adapted for 

 general planting in this country. 



The list of Japanese and Chinese Vines, which has of late been con- 

 siderably increased by new introductions from China, contains species 

 which are well adapted for cultivation in the gardens of this country. 

 Found in mountainous regions of considerable elevations, they are per- 

 fectly hardy, and at Coombe Wood, in Surrey, they have withstood severe 

 frosts. 



Amongst them are found the largest-leaved as well as the smallest- 

 leaved known species of the genus. The noble Vitis Goignetice and the 

 still finer Vitis Thunbergii may be taken as examples of the former, and 

 Vitis inconstans (Ampelopsis Veitchii) and the new Vitis flexuosa Wilsoni 

 (fig. 90) are instances of the latter. 



Between these extremes may be found others with most variable leaves, 

 differing much in colour, size, and shape, from the glossy bronzy-green of 

 Vitis armata Veitchii (figs. 84, 89, and coloured plate) to the rich purple of 



