Stem woody, round, smooth, pale brown, branched, twining from 
left to right, or according to the apparent motion of the sun, and 
climbing, where it meets with support, to a considerable hight. 
Branches opposite, cylindrical, often more or less purple. Leaves 
opposite, all separate, egg-shaped, blunt, attenuated at the base ; 
mostly sessile, or slightly stalked, entire, more or less hairy, rarely 
smooth, darkish green above, pale underneath. Flowers in termi- 
nal, somewhat egg-shaped heads; reddish on the outside, yellowish 
within, but they vary much in colour, between red, purple, and 
yellow, and in the shade are often very pale ; they are very fragrant, 
especially in the evening. Calyx small, distinctly 5-toothed. 
Corolla gaping, tube about an inch long, a little curved ; border 
2-parted, both parts reflexed, the upper one divided into 4 blunt 
and nearly equal segments, the lower one strap-shaped and entire. 
Stamens and Pistil very conspicuous. Berries nearly globular, 
deep red, bitter and nauseous ; often roughish ; accompanied by 
permanent bracteas. A variety of this (Caprifolium non perfora- 
tum, foliis sinuosis, Ray's Syn. p. 458.) with sinuated leaves, like 
those of the Oak, is sometimes met with in a wild state. It was 
found first near Oxford, by Mr. Jenner, before 1666 ; (see Mcrr. 
Pin. 92.) and afterwards by Mr. Knowlton, in the way from 
Hitchim to Wembly. Mr. Woodward found it in Norfolk, in the 
woods of Lord Wodehouse ; and I have observed it in Bagley 
Wood, Berks ; in Headington-Wick Copse, near Oxford ; and in a 
hedge about a mile from Rugby, in Warwickshire, on the left hand 
side of the road to Lawford. 
The early writers attribute virtues to the Woodbine which are 
now quite given up ; but the beauty and exquisite fragrance of the 
flowers make it a favourite plant in gardens and shrubberies. 1 never 
remember to have seen it in greater profusion than in the neigh- 
bourhood of Rugby ; almost every hedge in the vicinity of that 
pleasant town is, in the months of June and July, “ o’ercanopied” 
with wreaths of its odoriferous flowers, whose perfume being of the 
most agreeable kind, renders a walk into the fields, at that season 
of the year, truly delightful. Happy, says Dr. WrTHERiNG, the 
disposition which can derive mental improvement from the con- 
templation of each varied production of nature ; enviable the feeling 
which can delight to connect with objects so pleasing as flowers 
the characters of those we love. The present subject suggests to 
the amiable author of the “ Wonders of the Vegetable Kingdom,” 
an elegant emblematical compliment to her friend. “ Behold your- 
self, — in the fragrant Woodbine. Its scent may be compared to a 
fountain of affection, always flowing, always full. It is not the 
flower of a day, nor does the passing of a cloud occasion any differ- 
ence ; but its sweets continue, and even emit a richer perfume, 
when the heavy shower is descending.” 
A small fungus, JEcidium Pericly'meni, Deo., is parasitic on the leaves of this 
plant in the vicinity of Oxford, in the Summer. 
Some interesting information relating to the common Woodbine may he seen in 
Mr. Loudon’s Magazine of Nat. History, v. vi. pp. 330 & 331. ; arid also in his 
excellent work, the Arboretum et Frutieetum Britannicum, pp. 1013 to 1045. 
