HAKDY ORNAMENTAL VINES. 



393 



Vitis armata, which was sent by Mr. Wilson from the province of 

 Hupeh, Central China, resembles the above in having the prickles and 

 edible fruit, but is a far handsomer plant (figs. 83, 88, 104). At Coombe 

 Wood, in Surrey, plants two or three years old from seed have developed 

 into striking specimens, 6 to 10 feet high, furnished from the base 

 upwards with large simple leaves of a bronzy-green hue when young, 

 the stems and petioles being covered with peculiar processes similar in 

 appearance to thorns or prickles, but which can hardly be called by these 

 terms as they are commonly understood. The leaves are heart-shaped, 

 7 to 8 inches broad, and 9 to 10 inches long, sometimes three-angled, and 

 glabrous in all parts. The petiole is about 6 inches long, purple in colour, 

 and densely beset with semi-transparent green tubercules, which are often 

 bent in the form of hooks, and no cteubt assist the plants in their native 

 habitat to climb trees or scramble over underwood. As to the value of 

 the fruit in this country it is at present early to speak, but in all proba- 

 bility it will not be great. 



Mr. Wilson says of the fruit, in his notes : — " Edible and of pleasant 

 flavour, but rather sharp." Dried specimens show that it is of fair size 

 for a fruit unimproved by cultivation. 



A form of Vitis armata has appeared in the collection at Coombe 

 Wood to which the varietal named Veitchii has been given. This form 

 is unusually bold and handsome, more vigorous than the type, producing 

 larger leaves which retain a shining bronzy-green colour all through the 

 summer, and in autumn assume the richest hues (figs. 84, 89). 



Vitis Coignetice is a native of the forests of Yesso, Japan, and was for 

 many years a puzzle to botanists of this country who failed to recognise 

 it, although there is now little doubt as to its identity. In its native forests 

 it climbs to the tops of the highest trees, or rambles for long distances 

 in apparently aimless confusion through the undergrowth on the margins 

 of woods, bearing everywhere its enormous foliage, which in autumn 

 assumes the most brilliant and startling hues of red, crimson, and 

 golden-yellow. The leaves] [are thick and leathery in texture, often 9 

 to 10 inches long and equally broad, rich green above, and covered with 

 a soft woolly tomentum beneath. This Vine is a strong and vigorous 

 grower, and is best planted in situations^ where itj is free from restraint 

 and can ramble at will. 



Vitis Delavayi, another new introduction from China, of distinct 

 appearance, is named after the French missionary, Pere Delavay (fig. 102). 

 It is a trifoliate-leaved species, the terminal leaflet being the largest, 

 measuring fully six inches in length when fully developed, lanceolate 

 in outline, and coarsely serrate. The other two leaflets are irregular in 

 outline, and the halves on either side of the midrib are unequal. The 

 petiole and stems are purplish in colour and glabrous. 



Vitis flexuosa is a small-leaved species, a native of China and Japan, 

 with flexuous stems and cordate serrate leaves that are villous on the 

 lower surface, and in some seasons retained till the middle of November. 



Vitis flexuosa chinensis is distinct from the other terms of this most 

 variable species, differing from V. flexuosa Wilsoni (described below), in 

 having larger leaves of a less glossy appearance (fig. 107). 



Vitis flexuosa major is a large-leaved and striking form of the above 



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