PART III. THE ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM ; OR THE DESCRIPTION, HISTORY, PROPERTIES, and uses, oF THE HARDY TREES AND SHRUBS OF BRITAIN, INDIGENous and foreign. TREES and shrubs, in common with all other perfect plants, are arranged by botanists in two grand divisions; viz. the Exogenous, or Dicotyledonous, plants, the stems of which increase from without; and the Endogenous, or Monocotyledonous, plants, the stems of which increase from within. The first class includes all the hardy trees and shrubs in Britain, with the exception of shrubs of the genera Yucca, Smilax, Rúscus, and one or two others; and this circumstance, as well as the fact, that the trees and shrubs of Britain are comprised in a very few orders and tribes, has determined us to neglect the great scientific divisions of the natural system, and to adopt only those of the orders and tribes. We proceed, therefore, with the orders of the natural system, much in the same series as that in which they are laid down in De Candolle's Prodromus, Don's Miller's Dictionary, and in our Hortus Britannicus, giving the orders as chapters, and the tribes as sections, and including in our distinctive character of each order, the characteristic of the division to which it belongs: that is to say, "whether to Dichlamydea Thalamiflòræ, Dichlamýdeæ Calyciflòræ, Dichlamydea Corolliflòræ, or Monochlamydea. CHAP. I. OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER RANUNCULA`CEÆ. THE term Ranunculaceae is applied to this order, because all the plants contained in it have, more or less, the character of the genus Ranúnculus. The diagnostic, or distinctive character, of the order is thus given by Dr. Lindley :— Polypetalous dicotyledons, with hypogynous stamens [that is, stamens under the pistil]; anthers bursting by longitudinal slits; several distinct simple carpella [fruits]; exstipulate leaves, sheathing at their base; solid albumen; and seeds without arillus." (Introd. to the Nat. Syst., p. 6.) The only ligneous plants belonging to this order are, some species of Clématis and Atragène, one of Pæònia, and the genus Xanthorhiza. The stems of the species alluded to, though they are botanically considered as ligneous, yet have very little claim to the appellation in the common sense of the word; and, indeed, with the exception of the stems of Clématis Vitálba, C. Flámmula, and one or two other species of Clématis and Xanthorhìza, the stems of the plants belonging to this order might be almost called subherbaceous. The species are chiefly natives of Europe and North America; but some are from India, China, and Japan. The Ranunculaceae are considered to indicate a cold damp climate, and to be acrid, caustic, and poisonous, though the root of the peony is said to be antispasmodic. All the plants of the order, with the exception perhaps of a few of the species, seem to be extremely tenacious of life. The tubers of the common ranunculus and anemone, if kept dry, will vegetate at the end of two, and even three, years; and the seeds of most of the species, more especially those of the Clematídeæ, may be kept a number of years without impairing their vital powers. The tribes containing ligneous plants are two, Clematideæ and Pæoniacea. The last tribe belongs to a division of the order consisting of what are considered as spurious Ranunculàceæ. It includes the ligneous genera, Xanthorhìza and Pæònia, which even a superficial observer may recognise as differing, in habit and appearance, from the genera Clématis and Atragène, which are slender-stemmed climbers, while the others are herbaceous-looking undershrubs. Sect. I. CLEMATI DEE. THESE are climbers, characterised by having the æstivation of the calyx valvate or induplicate; with no petals, or with the petals flat; the anther opening outwards; the carpels, or seed-vessels, not opening; one-seeded, terminated by a tail, which is the indurated style. Seed pendulous. Leaves opposite. Deciduous and evergreen climbers. The genera are two; Clématis and Atragène, which are thus contradistinguished: CLEMATIS L. Petals none. ATRAGE NE L. Petals several. GENUS I. اد C'LE'MATIS L. THE CLEMATIS, or VIRGIN'S BOWER. Lin. Syst. Polyándria Polygýnia. Identification. The word Klematis is said by Donnegan to have been used by Theophrastus, cap. 5.10., as well as Atragène, to designate the Clématis Vitálba of Linnæus. Clematis was used by Matthiolus, and also by Clusius, who applied it to C. Viticélla L. and C. cirrhòsa L. It has been since generally applied to this family of plants by botanists. Synonymes. Ladies' Bower Gerard; Clématite, Fr.; Waldrebe, Ger. ; Clematide, Ital. Derivations. The word Clematis, or Klematis, is derived from the Greek word klema, a small branch of a vine; and it is applied to this genus, because most of the plants composing it climb like a vine. The English name of Ladies' Bower was probably adopted from its suitableness for covering bowers; and, as the first kind of clematis brought to England (C. Viticélla) was introduced in 1569, during the reign of Elizabeth, the name of Virgin's Bower might be intended to convey a compliment to that sovereign, who, as it is well known, liked to be called the Virgin Queen. The German name, Waldrebe, is compounded of wald, a wood, and rebe, the branch of a vine. Generic Character. Involucre none, or situated under the flower, in the form of a calyx. Calyx of from four to eight coloured sepals. Petals none. Carpels numerous, aggregate, terminated by a long, and mostly feathery, tail.— Climbing shrubs, with variously cut opposite leaves. The recent herb of all the species is acrid, and, when applied to the skin, it occasions blisters. (Don's Mill., i. p. 3.) The seed is pendulous, and the carpels are oneseeded; each is terminated by a persistent style, and does not open until ruptured by the germination of the seed. Description, &c. Root strong; the fibres rather straight, and not very much branched; extended in the soil rather horizontally than perpendicularly. Stem ligneous, not rigid enough to stand erect. Branches the same, and slender. Leaves in decussating pairs; the petiole possessed of a clasping power, the effect of which is the prehension of contiguous plants and objects. The rate of growth in C. Vitálba and C. Flámmula is among the most rapid known in the plants of temperate climates, particularly in the shoots which a well-established vigorous plant throws up, after it has been cut down to the ground. The most ornamental species arc C. Viticélla and C. flórida; the most rapidly growing for covering bowers is C. Vitálba. The kind most fragrant in its flowers is C. Flámmula. Geography, History, Uses, &c. Most of the hardy species of Clématis are natives of the middle and south of Europe, and of North America; a few of them are natives of the north of Africa, some of Siberia; there are several in the Himalaya, one in China, and several in Japan. The genus has been known since the days of Theophrastus, and has received various accessions from the time of Matthiolus to the recent introductions from the Himalaya. The acrid properties of the Clématis are well known to herbalists. The bark, leaves, and blossoms are used to raise blisters on the skin, or to produce a slight external inflammation: taken internally they are a corrosive poison. The flowers contain a peculiar substance, called clematine, which is similar to gluten; the green leaves, bruised, are applied to ulcers, to produce sloughing. The floricultural use of these plants is, to cover bowers, or ornament verandas or trellis-work. The greater number of them ripen their seeds in England, and are easily propagated by them, or by layers. They all require support by props of some kind; and all grow freely in any soil that is tolerably dry, but more especially in one that is calcareous. From the acridity of these plants, they are not very liable to be attacked by insects; nevertheless, snails and slugs are occasionally found eating their young herbage. Most of the species and varieties which we shall describe are to be found in the principal botanic gardens of Europe, and have been seen by us in that of the Horticultural Society of. London; and the more ornamental of them are cultivated for sale in the principal European and American nurseries. The ligneous species of Clématis are included in four sections; viz. Flámmula, Viticélla, Cheirópsis, and Anemoneflòra. i. Flammula Dec. 7 7 1 Sectional Character. Involucre wanting. Tail of the carpels long, bearded and feathery. Cotyledons distant in the seed. (Don's Mill., i. p. 3.) 1. CLEMATIS FLA'MMULA L. The inflammatory-juiced Clematis, or sweet-scented Virgin's Bower. Identification. Lin. Sp., 766.; Willd. Sp., 2. p. 1293.; Hayne Den., p. 119.; Lam. Dict. Encyc., 2. p. 42.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 2.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. Synonymes. C. rens Gerard; C. marítima All. Ped.; C. suaveolens Salisb. Prod.; Clematite odorante, Fr.; Scharfe waldrebe, Ger. Derivation. From flammare, to inflame; on account of the blistering qualities of the species. Specific Character. Leaves pinnate, smooth; with orbicular, oval, oblong or linear, entire or three-lobed, acutish leaflets. (Don's Mill., i. p. 4.) Flowers white. July to Oct. Height 15 ft. 1596. Varieties and their Synonymes. The following are given by De Candolle ; but they are not of much importance in point of general effect. C. F. 2 rotundifòlia Dec., fragrans Tenore.-Leaflets almost orbicular, & C. F. 4 rubella Dec.- Leaflets oval, usually emarginate. Sepals C. F. 5 cæspitòsa Dec., C. caspitòsa Scop., C. Flámmula Bertol. Description. A vigorous-growing plant, the stems of which attain the length of 10 ft. or 15 ft. in a wild state, and from 15 ft. to 30 ft. in a state of culture. The leaves of the entire plant are subject to much variation, from soil, situation, and climate. The shoots of a well-established plant, which has been cut down, grow with great rapidity in the early part of the season, attaching themselves to whatever is near them. The peduncles of the flowers are sometimes simple and sometimes branched. The colour of the sepals is white, slightly pubescent on their exterior margins. The whole plant has a dark green hue; and in autumn it is abundantly covered with flowers, the odour of which is of a honeyed sweetness, exceedingly disagreeable to some persons when near, though at a distance it is not unlike the fragrance of the common hawthorn. The number of the styles varies from five to eight, each style terminating in a little white feathery process when the seed ripens: the plant at that time appears covered with little tufts of cotton. In its native habitats this plant flowers in July and August; but in Britain it continues in flower from July to October. From the rapidity of its growth, it will in four or five years cover a very large space of wall, roof, or bower. Its herbage is considered less acrid than that of any other of the European species, notwithstanding its name of Flammula. (Dec. Syst.) Geography. This well-known species seems confined to the middle and south of Europe and to the north of Africa. It is found in the south of France in hedges, and in waste bushy places; in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal (see p. 132. and p. 164.), and in all these countries, generally in low situations, not far from the sea, and in soil more or less calcareous. History and Use. C. Flammula appears to have been first recorded by Dodonæus, in his Stirpium Historice Pemptades, in 1585; it was recognised by Matthiolus and L'Obel, and cultivated by Gerard in 1597; and it 9 is now generally grown in gardens throughout Europe and North America for covering bowers, garden-houses, trellis-work, and naked walls; for which purposes it is well adapted from its rapid growth, its intense fragrance when in flower, and its tufted cottony masses when in seed. Statistics. Plants may be had in all the European nurseries: about London, of the smallest size, at about 58. per hundred, or 6d. for a single strong plant; at Bollwyller, at from 6 francs to 8 francs the hundred, or about half a franc a plant; and at New York, for 30 cents per plant. Identification. Lin. Sp., 765.; Willd. Sp., 2. 1289.; Lam. Dict, Enc., 2. p. 42.; Hayne Dend., 119.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 3.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. Synonymes. Flammula scandens apií folio glauco, Dill. Euth., 144.; C. flàva Moench. Meth., 296.; the eastern, or yellow-flowered, Virgin's Bower; Clematite orientale, Fr.; Morgenländische Waldrebe, Ger. Engravings. Dill. Elth., t. 119. f. 145.: and our fig. 10. Spec. Char. Leaves pinnate; leafletssmooth wedgeshaped, with three toothed pointed lobes. (Don's Mill., i. p. 4.) Flowers greenish yellow, slightly tinged with russet, sweet-scented. Aug. Sept. 1731. Height 15 ft. Description. The general magnitude of this species resembles that of C. Flámmula, from which it differs, in its ulterior branches being more persistently ligneous, though the main stem in old plants is seldom seen so thick as that of C. Flámmula. It is also distinguished from the latter species by throwing up suckers freely, which the other does not. Its leaflets are glaucous, flat, large as compared with those of C. Flámmula, and it does not produce flowers so profusely as that species; the flowers are yellowish, and not so strongly scented; and the carpels are dissimilar, though still cottony in appearance when the seed is ripe. Geography, History, &c. C. orientalis was discovered by Tournefort in the Levant, and sent by him to the Paris Garden; whence it was sent to Clifford's garden in Holland, and, in 1732, to that of Dr. Sherard at Eltham; when it was first described and figured in the Hortus Elthamensis. The plant has been subsequently discovered in Caucasus by Bieberstein, and described by him in his Flora Taurico-Caucasica. It is not very generally cultivated, though it is found in several botanic gardens, and may be purchased in some nurseries. Plants of it are in the garden of the London Horticultural Society. Price, in London, 1s. or 1s. 6d. a plant; at Bollwyller,?; and in New York, ?. 13. C. [? o.] GLAU'CA W. The glaucous-leaved Clematis. Identification. Willd. Arb., 65., and Sp. 2. p. 1290.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 3.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. Engravings. Willd. Arb., 65. t. 4. f. 1.; Den. Brit., 73.; and our fig. 11. Spec. Char. Leaves pinnate; leaflets smooth, glaucous, wedge-shaped, with entire bluntish lobes. Peduncles trifid. (Don's Mill., i. p. 4.) Flowers yellow, scentless. July. 1800. Height 10 ft. Description. The general appearance is the same as that of C. orientalis, of which it is probably only a variety; but the whole plant is more decidedly glaucous. Geography, History, &c. Found in the southern parts of 11 Siberia, in sandy wastes, by Pallas; but when it was introduced into Britain is uncertain. Cultivated in Knight's Exotic Nursery, King's Road, Chelsea, where it flowered in 1822, and whence it was figured by Watson in his Dendrologia. There is a plant of it in the London Horticultural Society's Garden, which bears so strong a resemblance to C. orientális, that, supposing them to be correctly named, we have no doubt of their being the same species. 14. C. CHINENSIS Retz. The Chinese Clematis. Identification. Retz. Obs., 2. p. 18.; Dec. Syst., 1. p. 137.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. Synonymes. C. sinensis Lour. coch., 1. p. 422. Spec. Char. Leaves pinnate; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, quite entire. Peduncles few-flowered, longer than the leaves. Ovaries usually four, with almost naked tails. (Don's Mill., i. p. 4.) Flowers [?] purple. 1820. Height 15 ft. Description. This plant is described in De Candolle's Systema, from a dried specimen which he had seen in the Banksian Herbarium. There is a living plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden, which grows vigorously against a wall, producing shoots as long and strong as those of C. Flámmula; and retaining its leaves till they are blackened by frost. This plant has never flowered in England; but, in its leaves and its general appearance, it seems to resemble C. orientalis. Geography, History, &c. This plant was found in China, in the island called Danes, whence it was received by the Horticultural Society in 1820. It is planted in the garden at Chiswick against a wall, with a southern exposure, and receives some slight protection during winter. 15. C. PANICULATA Thun. The panicled Clematis. Identification. Thunb. Lin. Soc. Trans., 2. p. 337.; Willd. Sp., 2. p. 1291.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 3.; Synonymes. C. Vitálba japónica Houtt. Pflanz., 7. p. 309.; C. crispa Thunb. Fl. Jap., p. 239. Spec. Char. Leaves pinnate; leaflets ovate, cordate, acute, entire. Peduncles panicled, manyflowered. (Don's Mill., i. p. 4.) Flowers white, and sweet-scented. 1796. Description. Described by De Candolle in his Systema, from dried specimens, from which it appears that the flowers resemble those of C. Flammula in form and colour, and, like them, also, are sweet-scented. 16. C. VITAʼLBA L. The White Vine Clematis, or Traveller's Joy. Identification. Lin. Sp., 766.; Willd. Sp., 2. p. 1292.; Fl. Br., 589.; Hook. Scot., 171.; Lam. Dict. Enc., 2. p. 41.; Hayne Den., p. 120.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 3.; Smith's Eng. Fl., 3. p. 39.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 4. Synonymes. Athragene Theoph.; Vitis sylvestris Dios.; C. latifolia seu Atragène Ray; C. áltera Matth.; C. tertia Com.; Viórna Ger. and Lob.; Fltis nigra Fuch.; Vitálba Dod.; the Old Man's Beard, |