Description, &c. The periwinkle is a trailing evergreen, which produces its beautiful blue flowers all the summer, and is admirably adapted for covering the dug ground in shrubberies, and the banks of hedgerows, as it prefers a shady situation. It is supposed to have been known to the Greeks, and to be the plant that was called by them Klematis, from its creeping branches; it being thought that the Klematis daphnoides of Dioscorides was the same as the Vinca Pervinca of Pliny. It is found wild in the forests of France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and other parts of Europe; and 1082 1083 is more abundant in Britain than V. minor, though both are supposed to have become naturalised, rather than to be really indigenous. In the middle ages, many curious medical virtues were attributed to this plant; the most amusing of which is that mentioned by Culpepper, that "The leaves of the periwinkle, eaten by man and wife together, do cause love between them." The principal use of the plant, in modern times, is to cover the dug ground of shrubberies; but, in France, a beautiful fence for flower-gardens is frequently made of it, by training its branches over low palisades or espaliers, taking care to tie them in different places; as, wherever the plant is left at liberty, it will root into the ground. In some parts of Italy, these fences are called centocchio, or hundred eyes; a name also given to the flower: but in some other parts of that country the periwinkle is called fiore di morte, from the custom which prevails of making garlands of it for dead children. The French call it violette des sorciers, from an ancient prejudice that it was used by sorcerers in their incantations. The ancient name of this flower, in England, was pervinkè; and it is spoken of under that name by Chaucer: "There sprange the violet al newe, Few modern British poets seem to have mentioned it, probably from the inharmoniousness and unmanageableness of its modern name. Wordsworth, however, says, "Through primrose tufts, in that sweet bower, He tells us that he was when she suddenly exRousseau, being short Rousseau's anecdote of this flower is well known. walking with Madame de Warens, at Charmettes, claimed, "There is the periwinkle still in flower." sighted, had never before observed this flower, which always grows near the ground; and, stooping down, he gazed at it with pleasure. He did not see it again for 30 years; when, being at Gressier, and climbing a hill, with M. Peyrou, he observed something blue among the bushes; and, stooping down to examine it, he uttered, with a cry of joy, "Voilà la pervenche!" and all the tender emotions of the moment when he first saw it rushed back upon his mind. Hence the plant, in France, is consecrated "Aux doux souvenirs; " and is generally planted near a monumental urn, or other ornament or building, dedicated to the remembrance of a friend. The propagation of the periwinkle is very easy; as, though it is seldom raised from seeds, yet the trailing stems of the plant take root freely; chiefly at their tips, or points, in the same manner as those of the bramble or the strawberry. The plant may also be increased by dividing it at the roots. The periwinkle, when wanted to produce ripe seeds, does best when planted in a pot with very little earth, and the lateral shoots cut off. * 4 N 5 2. V. MINOR L. The less Periwinkle. Identification. Lin. Sp., 304.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 95.; Lodd. Synonymes. Pervinca minor Scop. Carn., No. 273.; Per- Engravings. Engl. Bot., t. 917.; Curt. Lond., 3. t. 16.; Plenck Icon., t. 183.; Blackw., t. 59.; Hayne Abbild., t. 26.; and our fig. 1084. Spec. Char., &c. Stems procumbent. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous. Calycine segments linear-lanceolate, bluntish. Segments of corolla broadish at top. Flowering stems usually erect. Flowers void of scent. Corolla blue, with white throat, varying to purple and white; of a smaller size than that of V. major. This species varies much in the colour of the flowers; they are also sometimes double; and the foliage is sometimes variegated, either with white or yellow stripes. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 95.) A creeping evergreen undershrub; a native of Europe, and found abundantly in Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, &c. In Britain, it has been found in many places, in hedges and woods, in rather damp situations, where it flowers from March till September. It is of the easiest culture, 1084 and, like the preceding species, may be usefully employed in covering naked surfaces, in shaded situations. Varieties. V. m. 2 folus argenteis Lodd. Cat. has leaves variegated with white. V. m. 5 flore plèno Lodd. Cat. has double flowers. Gelsèmium nitidum Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 120.; Bignonia sempervirens L., Pluk. Alm., 359. t. 112. f. 5.; and our fig. 1085.; is a climbing evergreen; a native of North America in the vicinity of rivers, from Virginia to Florida, where it flowers in June and July. It has been in British gardens since 1640; and, though it is generally kept in green-houses or cold-pits, there can be no doubt it would stand against a conservative wall with very little protection. Nerium Oleander L. (fig. 1086.) is a splendid flowering shrub, very generally cultivated in Italy, and the south of France and Spain, and common in English green-houses. It requires a rich soil, kept moist, and may be preserved against a conservative wall; though it does not flower freely, except when grown in warm situations, so as thoroughly to mature the wood. There are several varieties and botanical species, for which we refer to the Hortus Britannicus. (See, also, the Gardener's Magazine, vol. i. p. 402.) LONDON: Printed by A. SPOTTISWOCDE, New-Street-Square. |