Davidiana
(David's), a blue-flowered sort, from the same country, whence it was introduced in 1863, is closely allied to this species. (R. H. 1867, 90.) C. verticillaris (verticillate). Synonymous with Atragene americana. C. Viorna. Viorna; Leather-flower. fl. purple, yellow inside, large, drooping; sepals connivent, thick, acuminated, reflexed at the apex; peduncles one-flowered. June. l. smooth, pinnate; leaflets entire, three-lobed, or ternate, ovate, acute, floral ones entire. h. 10ft. to 12ft. North America, 1730. Hardy C. V. coccinea (scarlet).* fl. solitary, axillary, or at the extremities of the branches on long coloured peduncles; sepals four, very thick and fleshy, about 1 1/2in. long, campanulate at the base; segments reflexed at the tip; interior yellow, exterior of an intense vermilion. Texas, 1868. A slender-growing but very elegant species, reaching about 5ft. or 6ft. in height. Probably hardy. In some books, this has been named C. Pitcheri, a widely different species. (B. M. 6594.) C. virginiana (Virginian).* fl. white, fragrant, small, panicled, dioecious. June to August. l. ternate; leaflets cordate, acute, grossly toothed or lobed. h. 15ft. to 20ft. North America, 1767. Hardy. (W. D. B. 74.) C. Vitalba (White Vine).* Old Man's Beard; Traveller's Joy, &c. fl. white, with a sweet almond scent; peduncles forked, shorter than the leaves. July to September. Seed or carpels furnished with a feathery tail. l. pinnate; leaflets ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, cordate at the base, partly cut. Europe (Britain), Western Asia. Hardy.
C. Viticella.* Vine Bower. fl. blue, purple, or rose-coloured, large, drooping; sepals obovate, spreading; peduncles one-flowered, longer than the leaves. June to September. l. entire or ternately decompound; lobes or leaflets entire. South Europe and Western Asia, 1569. Hardy. (B. M. 565.) There are several varieties of this species, one of which is double. In "The Clematis as a Garden Flower," by Thos. Moore, F.L.S., and George Jackman, F.R.H.S., the following key to the various classes is given: CLIMBING PLANTS.
Flowering on the Year-old Ripened Wood.
Flowers medium-sized (winter and spring blossomers). . . section 1. montana type.
Flowers large-- Spring blossomers. . . section 2. patens type. Summer blossomers. . . section 3. florida type.
Flowering from the Young Growing Summer Wood.
Flowers small (late summer blossomers). section 4. graveolens type. Flowers large (summer and autumn blossomers)... Flowers successional, dispersed . . . section 5. lanuginosa type. Flowers successional, massed. . . section 6. Viticella type. Flowers profusely massed, continuous. . . section 7. Jackmanni type.
NON-CLIMBING PLANTS.
With sub-shrubby stems. . . section 8. coerulea odorata [aromatica] type. With herbaceous stems. . . section 9. erecta [recta] type. It will be seen from this key to the classes, that the latter are numerous, and variable in habit and time of flowering. This difference must be borne in mind with each under cultivation, as it affects the manner of pruning considerably. To prune or remove the ripened wood of the three types first named, in winter, would, of course, destroy the flowers of the following year. The next four types make their growth and flower on it annually, consequently a little thinning out of the weaker shoots in early spring might prove of advantage by encouraging the stronger ones. Many varieties of these types have their shoots killed in winter by frost, being more tender, as a rule, than the three first-named. The last two types are quite distinct, being, as stated, non-climbing plants.
Varieties. Of late years, this magnificent genus of plants has been greatly improved by hybridisation. This very successful method of obtaining new kinds is believed (according to the authority already quoted) to have been first practised by Isaac Anderson-Henry, Esq., of Edinburgh, who was shortly afterwards followed by Mr. George Jackman, of Woking, Surrey. C. Jackmanni was one of the latter gentleman's first seedlings, and it is still one of the best and most useful we have. It flowered about the year 1862. Many other hybridisers, in this country and on the Continent, have since been at work with the different species and the hybrids afterwards obtained, to produce the very large and varied collection we now possess. We select a list, which is being constantly augmented, of the most approved varieties at the present time.
ALBERT VICTOR, deep lavender, the centre of each petal banded with brown, changing to white (May and June); ALEXANDRA, flowers pale reddish-violet; AMALIA, white, straw-coloured in centre, stamens reddish-purple (May and June); COUNTESS OF LOVELACE, large double-flowered variety, of rich purplish colour, the best double known; DEVONIENSIS, flowers the brightest and most delicate azure, large and well-formed, robust, hardy, and a free blossomer; DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH, fine double white, very large; DUKE OF EDINBURGH, rich violet-purple, very large; EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, royal purple, a magnificent variety; ENCHANTRESS, white, very double, the exterior petals flushed with rose; FAIR ROSAMOND, bluish-white, with a somewhat indistinct wine-red bar up the centre of each sepal, the stamens very prominent and distinct, exceedingly fragrant; FAIRY QUEEN, pale flesh, with a red bar in the centre of each petal; GEM, deep lavender-blue, very fine; GIPSY QUEEN, dark velvety-purple, very floriferous; GRAND DUCHESS, blush-white, very large and free; GUIDING STAR, purple, shaded crimson, a maroon band down each petal; HELENE, white, straw-coloured centre (May and June); HENRYI, large, of fine form, creamy-white, very free; HYBRIDA SPLENDIDA, rich violet, stems green (July to October); JACKMANNI, flowers large, deep violet-purple, rugose and veiny in centre, stamens green (July to October); JOHN GOULD VEITCH, flowers large and double, light blue (summer flowering); LADY BOVILL, flowers large, cupped, greyish-blue, suffused with mauve; LADY CAROLINE NEVILLE, bluish-white, with a broad bar in the centre of each petal; LADY LONDESBOROUGH, delicate silvery-grey, white stripe down each petal, stamens stained with pink (May and June); LILACINA FLORIBUNDA, pale lilac, very free; LORD LONDESBOROUGH, rich mauve, striped maroon, very large; LOUISA, mauve, shaded with pink (May and June); LOUIS VAN HOUTTE, rich blue-purple, very large and distinct; LUCIE LEMOINE, the largest and best double white; MADAME GRANGE, purplish-violet, red bar; MADAME VAN HOUTTE, pure white, fine shape and substance; MARIE LEFEBVRE, very fragrant; MISS BATEMAN, pure white, creamy band down each petal; MRS. JAMES BATEMAN, pale lavender, very handsome (May and June); OTHELLO, dark velvety-purple, fine form; OTTO FROEBEL, white, shaded with azure-blue, large; PRINCE OF WALES, deep violet-purple, petals barred with red (July to October); REGINAE, flowers large, rich deep mauve in colour; SENSATION, rich satiny-mauve, large and very fragrant; SIEBOLDII, pale straw, centre puce, shaded with green (July to October); SOPHIE, mauve petals, pale straw in the centre, stamens chocolate (May and June); SOPHIE FLORE-PLENO, flowers double, mauve, outer petals pale yellowish-white (May and June); STANDISHII, flowers large, violet-blue (May and June); STAR OF INDIA, reddish-purple, with purple bands; STELLA, flowers light violet or deep mauve, with a distinct bar of deep reddish-brown or plum-colour in the centre of each sepal, delicately scented; SYLPH, white, shaded with light pinkish-mauve; SYMEIANA, pale mauve, flowers large; THOMAS MOORE, rich soft violet, stamens white; TUNBRIDGENSIS, dark blue, shaded with purple; VENUS VICTRIX, delicate lavender, an excellent form; VESTA, fine white, early flowering. CLEOME (name adopted by Linnaeus from Theodosius). Spider Flower. Including Peritoma and Polanisia. ORD. Capparideoe. A large genus, comprising about seventy species, mostly annual herbs--a few are shrubby. Flowers white, yellow, or purple, showy, solitary or racemose. Leaves simple, or digitately three to seven-foliate. They should be raised from seeds in spring, in a frame, with slight warmth, potted off singly, and hardened subsequently, so as to be planted out in May, when they should be vigorous plants. Cleomes thrive best in light rich soil, in a dry, warm situation, where they have plenty of room to spread. The stove shrubby species also require a light rich soil, and ripened cuttings root readily under a hand glass, in moderate heat; but as they produce seed freely, this will be unnecessary. The stove annuals are of easy culture.
C. arborea (tree-like). fl. white. June. l., leaflets seven, with about twenty veins on each. h. 6ft. to 8ft. Caraccas, 1817. Stove shrub, velvety-pubescent, somewhat clammy.
C. gigantea (gigantic).* fl. whitish-green, with pinkish filaments and yellow anthers. June. l. seven-foliolate, with thirty to forty veins on each leaflet. Plant velvety-pubescent, somewhat clammy. h. 6ft. to 12ft. South America, 1774. This is a beautiful stove shrub, but has a strong disagreeable smell, and a caustic taste. (B. M. 3137.) C. pungens (pungent).* fl. white, flesh-coloured, or rose, with purplish stamens and brownish anthers. July. l. prickly, covered with clammy hairs, with five to seven leaflets; bracts simple, cordate, or ovate. h. 1ft. to 3ft. West Indies, &c., 1817. Stove annual. SYN. C. spinosa. (B. M. 1640.) C. rosea (rose).* fl. beautiful rose-coloured. June. l., leaflets quinate; lower and floral ones ternate; uppermost ones ovate, sessile. Stem erect, branched. h. 1 1/2ft. Rio Janeiro, 1824. An unarmed, smooth, stove biennial. (B. R. 960.) C. speciosissima (showiest). fl. beautiful rose-coloured. July. l., leaflets five to seven, lanceolate, acuminate, pilose. h. 1 1/2ft. Mexico, 1829. An unarmed hardy annual. (B. R. 1312.) C. spinosa (prickly). Synonymous with C. pungens.
CLERODENDRON (from kleros, chance, and dendron, a tree; said to be owing to the uncertainty of the medicinal qualities). SYNS. Ovieda, Siphonantha, Volkameria, and Volkmannia. ORD. Verbenaceoe. A genus containing about seventy species of mostly stove or greenhouse ornamental plants, having terminal panicles of brightly coloured pentamerous flowers, with exserted stamens and style; and simple leaves. These are among the best of stove plants, and in habit of growth present two sections, one with a climbing habit, and the other shrubby. A mixture of equal parts peat and loam, with the addition of a little leaf mould or decomposed manure, and some charcoal or sand, suits the climbing ones admirably. The shrubby sorts have more gross foliage, and need something stronger to enable them to throw up their large panicles of rich scarlet and other coloured flowers. They should be cut close back soon after flowering, and be kept somewhat dry during the winter, in a temperature of about 55deg. Propagation is very easily effected. Cuttings of the shrubby sorts, put in when the plants are cut down, root readily. Pieces of the stem, or side branches, from 3in. to 6in. or more in length, should be inserted in sandy soil, watered, and then plunged in a bottom heat of 70deg. Clerodendrons may also be propagated by seed, which, if sown when ripe, or in the spring, and grown on in heat, may be converted into flowering plants the second season. The climbing varieties do not root quite so readily from cuttings as the other section; but cuttings of the ripened wood, when the plants are pruned after flowering, should be put in sandy soil, and covered with a bell glass. Clerodendrons are subject to mealy bug, but not more so than many other stove plants. The best cure for this pest is constant attention by hand-pickings, and washing with soft soap water or an insecticide. By such means, it may be readily kept in check, though rarely absolutely destroyed. Aphides sometimes attack the young and tender shoots; these may be destroyed, as soon as detected, by fumigating, two evenings in succession--not too strongly, or injury may be caused.
As the plants shed their leaves, little or no water will be needed during winter, but they should not be kept in too low a temperature. In January or February, they should be started in a brisk heat. When those in pots have grown a few inches, they should be shaken out, and potted in fresh soil. If they can be plunged in bottom heat for a time, they will thrive all the better and grow faster. Of course, climbing Clerodendrons, planted out in the stove, cannot be removed into a lower temperature; but the stove may be kept cooler in winter--say, a minimum temperature of 60deg.--and, as the wood has grown so near the glass, it will generally be sufficiently ripened to flower well the succeeding season. C. Thomsonoe is one of the most distinct and useful of stove climbers, and is also a good exhibition plant when well grown in a large pot. C. fallax is one of the best shrubby species.
C. Bethuneanum (Capt. Bethune's).* fl. crimson, with a white spot on the upper, and a purple one on the two lateral lobes; panicles large, terminal, pyramidal; bracts, pedicels and calyces all coloured. l. large, cordate-acuminate, smooth above. h. 10ft. Borneo, 1847. Stove shrub. (B. M. 4485.) C. Bungei (Bunge's). A synonym of C. foetidum.
C. calamitosum (calamitous). fl. white. August. h. 4ft. India, 1823. Stove. (B. M. 5294.) C. fallax (deceptive). fl. bright scarlet; panicles terminal, erect, many-flowered. August and September. l. large, cordate-ovate, slightly lobed, dark green. Java. An erect-growing stove shrub.
C. foetidum (foetid).* fl. lilac-rose, in dense terminal corymbs. August. l. large, pubescent, cordate-acuminate, toothed, on slender petioles. h. 5ft. China, 1820. A handsome greenhouse or nearly hardy shrub, armed with short rigid prickles. SYN. C. Bungei. (B. M. 4880.) C. fragrans (fragrant).* fl. white; corymb terminal, hemispherical, compact. August to December. l. sub-cordate, serrate, pubescent, with two glands at the base. h. 6ft. China, 1790. Greenhouse. (B. M. 1834.) C. f. flore-pleno (double-flowered).* fl. white, suffused with pink, very fragrant, disposed in compact heads. October. l. roundish-ovate or obovate, quite entire. h. 6ft. China, 1790. Greenhouse shrub. C. hastatum (spear-leaved). fl. white, very fragrant, produced in a large panicle. June. l. large, halbert-shaped. h. 6ft. India, 1825. Stove shrub. (B. M. 3398.) C. infortunatum (unfortunate). fl. vivid scarlet, large, disposed in coloured panicles. l. roundish-cordate, glossy dark green. h. 6ft. Ceylon. Stove shrub, very ornamental when in flower. (B. R. 30, 19.) C. myricoides (Myrica-like). fl. white, blue, disposed in fascicled axillary cymes. Spring. l. oblong-lanceolate or obovate, toothed. Tropical Africa. A dwarf stove shrub. SYN. Cyclonema myricoides.
C. paniculatum (panicled). fl. scarlet, disposed in a large pyramidal terminal panicle. August. l. large, long-stalked, cordate-hastate, lobed at the margin, and somewhat shiny above. h. 6ft. Java, 1809. A very handsome stove shrub. (B. R. 406.) C. scandens (climbing).* fl. white; corymbs many, axillary, and terminal. August. l. cordate-ovate, acuminate, entire. Plant downy; stems tetragonal, scandent. Guinea, 1822. Stove. (B. M. 4354.) C. serotinum (late). fl. pure white, sweet-scented, produced in large corymbose panicles, 1ft. or more across; calyx rose-coloured, angular. l. cordate, decussate, h. 10ft. China, 1867. A much-branched greenhouse or half-hardy shrub. (R. H. 1867, 351.) C. Siphonanthus (siphon-flowered). Tube Flower. fl. white. h. 6ft. India, 1796. Stove. SYN. Siphonanthus indica.
C. speciosum (showy).* fl. rich deep rose; calyx large, suffused with red. l. oblong-ovate, glabrous. A very ornamental climbing hybrid. (I. H. 593.) C. splendens (splendid).* fl. scarlet; panicle terminal, corymbose. June, July. l. oblong, wavy, acuminated, rather cordate at base Sierra Leone, 1839. Stove climber. (B. R. 28, 7.) C. s. speciosissima (showiest).* fl. bright scarlet, disposed in panicles. Summer. l. somewhat oblong, of a deep shining green. A very handsome form of the foregoing species, and one of the best stove climbers grown. C. squamatum (scaled).* fl. bright scarlet, produced in large coloured branching panicles. Summer. l. roundish-cordate. h. 10ft. China, 1790. A very fine stove shrub. (B. R. 8, 649.) C. Thomsonae (Mrs. Thomson's).* fl. bright crimson, disposed in large panicles; calyces pure white. l. ovate, acuminate, smooth, dark green, opposite. h. 12ft. Old Calabar, 1861. On account of the brilliant colour of its flowers, and the freedom with which they are produced, this is the most widely grown stove climber of the genus. (B. M. 5313.) C. trichotomum (three-forked). fl., calyx red, inflated; corolla white; cymes loose, terminal, long-stalked, trichotomously-branched. September. l. stalked, ovate, tapering at both ends, serrate. h. 6ft. Japan, 1800. A very handsome hardy shrub. (B. M. 6561.) C. viscosum (clammy). fl. white, with flesh-coloured centre; calyx large, five-cornered, viscid; segments of corolla nearly equal, the uppermost a little the largest, irregularly disposed, looking all upwards, leaving a wide space between two of them. May to August. l. cordate, toothed. Somewhat downy. h. 6ft. India, 1796. (B. M. 1805.)