176 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
Clematis. 
Berberis 
Dell. 
A few yards south of the Victoria Gate, and close to the Temple 
of Bellona, is the collection of clematis. This genus, mainly com- 
posed of climbers, and so well known for the gorgeous 
flowers of the popular varieties, is our starting-point. It 
is the most important genus of hardy shrubs in Ranunculaceae, and 
here are about thirty species, many of them trained on rough tree- 
branches. Moving southwards towards the Flagstaff, and keeping 
the Pagoda Vista as the right-hand boundary, we come to a de- 
pression known as the Berberis Dell. 
Here are grown the barberries, magnolias, tulip-trees, St. John’s 
worts, rock roses, tamarisks, and rose of Sharon, as well as numerous 
other genera of smaller size, like Asimina (papaw), Xan- 
thoxylum (toothache tree), Hymenanthera (from New 
Zealand), Azara (from Chile), Choisya (from Mexico), and 
various others from North America, North Asia, and Europe. Border- 
ing the Pagoda Vista on the west is a collection of hardy araliads, 
a group of plants allied to the ivy, but often attaining a tree-like 
form, and remarkable for the size and beauty of the leaves. Sur- 
rounding this dell is the collection of limes or lindens (Tilia). This 
genus, solely comprised of trees of large size, is well known by the 
common lime of streets and parks. Several more beautiful and more 
worthy sorts may be selected from this collection, especially those 
with silvery leaves and pendulous branches. 
Passing out of the Berberis Dell over the slope of the hill sur- 
mounted by the Flagstaff, we reach the collection of maples (Acer). 
This extensive genus, represented here by more than fifty 
species, includes many handsome trees, some with coloured 
fohage, others remarkable for the beautiful shades of their autumnal 
colouring. The famous sugar maple of North America is here. Close 
by are other smaller collections : Euonymus, a handsome genus, 
including the spindle tree of Great Britain, remarkable for its scarlet 
and orange fruits ; the bladder-nuts (Staphylea) ; and the buck- 
thorns (Rhamnus), including R. Frangula, the species whose charred 
wood is used in the manufacture of the finer qualities of gun- 
powder. 
Crossing the grass avenue leading from the North Gallery to the 
main entrance of the Temperate House, we come to the collection 
of vines (Vitis). The grape vine, Vitis vinifera, although hardy in 
South Britain, does not ripen its fruit there with certainty, except 
Maples. 
