Magazine  (Apr 1911)  Page(s) tab 8367.  Includes photo(s).
 
Clematis aristata, var. Dennisae.
Australia.
Ranunculaceae. Tribe Clematideae.

Clematis, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant, vol. i. p. 3.

Clematis aristata, B. Br., var. Dennisae, W. R. Guilf. in lc. ; varietas pulchra filamentis salmoneo-rubris distincta.

Frutex dioicus, scandens, semper virens, caule striato parcissime puberulo. Folia opposita, trifoliolata ; petioli 4.5-7.5 cm. longi; petioluli 1-3.5 cm. longi; foliola ovato-lanceolata vel lanceolata, acute caudato-acuminata acumine recurvo, basi cordata vel truncata, 5-10 cm. longa, 1.8-4.5 cm. lata, grosse dentato-serrata, glabra, opaca, basi quinquenervia, nervis exterioribus patulis, intermediis versus apicem currentibus juxta medium folii cum nervis superioribus lateralibus patulis connexis. Paniculae axillares, pluriflorae ; rhachis usque ad 2 cm. longa, breviter dense pilosa ; bracteae late subulatae marginibus incurvis, 3.5-5 mm. longae ; pedunculi decussati, uniflori, densiuscule pilosi, apice bibracteati, 3-10 mm. longi ; pedicelli 3.5-5 cm. longi, pilosi. Flores masculi : Sepala 4, aestivatione valvata, alba, lanceolato-ligularia, apice obtusa, in basin leviter angustata, 2-2.5 cm. longa, 4.5-7 mm. lata, extra pubescentia, intus glabra. Stamina, numerosa ; filamenta salmoneo-rubra, linearia, extima circiter 7 mm. longa, intima circiter 2 mm. longa ; antherae oblongae usque lineares, extimae 2.5 mm. longae appendice exclusa, intimae 4 mm. longae, connectivo apice ultra thecas in appendicem subulatam circiter 1.7 mm. longam producto. Rudimenta pistillorum nulla. Flores feminei et achaenia ignoti. — C. Sanderi, W. Wats, in Gard. Chron. 1907, vol. xli. p. 310.— T. A. Sprague.

Clematis aristata, R. Br., to which the form here figured is referred, is a native of Australia. The species was originally based on specimens from New South Wales, but in the Flora Australiensis a somewhat comprehensive view was adopted by the late Mr. Bentham, who attributes to C. aristata a wide distribution, and assigns to it several varieties. It is now, however, generally believed that the variety coriacea of that work includes at least the typical C. aristata and C. coriacea, DC, that the variety blanda is the distinct Tasmanian C. blanda, Hook., and that the variety occidentalis is the equally distinct Western Australian C. pubescens, Hueg. Some authorities, on the other hand, have treated as distinct certain forms that are usually referred to typical C. aristata, and in the case of the subject of our illustration, the plea for separate treatment is unusually strong. The plant here depicted differs markedly from true C. aristata in the longer coarsely dentate-serrate leaflets, and in this respect agrees more closely with certain specimens from New South Wales in the Kew herbarium which may be referable to C. coriacea, DC. These New South Wales specimens, however, which do not agree with typical C. aristata, differ also from our plant, which is a native of Victoria, in having considerably longer appendages to the anthers. Specimens of what we believe to be the female state of our plant were first collected by the late Baron von Mueller on Mount Disappointment and in the Delatite valley nearly sixty years ago ; the notes attached to these specimens show that von Mueller originally considered the plant entitled to specific rank. More than half a century was to elapse before the plant attracted in Australia the notice that it deserves, for it was not till about 1904 that it was introduced to cultivation by Mrs. J. Dennis, of Murngal, who had met with it on the Healesville ranges in Evelyn. Mr. W. E. Guilfoyle, Director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, on receiving examples, marked his sense of the position of the form and of the merit of its discoverer by naming it in her honour. Under this name, already familiar in Australian gardens, Mr. Guilfoyle, early in 1907, forwarded living examples to Messrs. F. Sander & Sons, in whose nursery at St. Albans our plant flowered in May, 1907, for the first time in Europe. This introduction was noted at the time in the Gardeners' Chronicle ; the writer of that note, while unaware of the history of the plant, independently formed the opinion at which Baron von Mueller had arrived in 1852. Later in the same year Messrs. Sander presented a living plant to the Kew collection. This plant, from which the material for our figure has been derived, has thriven well in a sunny greenhouse under the conditions suitable for C. indivisa, Willd., figured at t. 4398 of this work, which it resembles in habit and in being evergreen. It blossoms in May, and the flowers, which are fragrant, are striking on account of the salmon-red colour of their filaments. This character has not been ascribed to any of the forms hitherto referred to C. aristata, nor do the specimens of those at our disposal indicate its existence. Having regard, however, to the incertitude attending negative evidence it appears desirable, until further field observation has been made, to follow Mr. Guilfoyle in treating this striking plant as a well-marked variety of C. aristata.

Description - . — Shrub, dioecious, evergreen, climbing; stem striate, sparingly puberulous. Leaves opposite, 3- foliolate ; petioles 1 3/4-3 in. long; petiolules 1/2-1 1/2 in. long; leaflets ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, sharply caudate-acuminate with recurved tips, base cordate or truncate, 2-4 in. long, 3/4-1 3/4 in. wide, coarsely serrately toothed, glabrous, dull, 5-nerved from the base, outer nerves spreading, intermediate extending towards the leaf tip, united from the middle onwards with the upper spreading lateral branches of the midrib. Panicles axillary, many-flowered ; rachis under 1 in. long, shortly closely hairy ; bracts wide subulate with incurved edges, about 2 lin. long ; peduncles decussate 1-flowered, densely pilose, 2-bracteolate at the tip, 2-5 lin. long ; pedicels 1 £-2 in. long, pilose. Male flowers : Sepals 4, valvate, white, lanceolate-ligulate, obtuse, base slightly narrowed, 3/4-1 in. long, 2-4 lin. wide, pubescent externally, glabrous within. Stamens many ; filaments salmon-red, the outer about 1/4 in. long, three times as long as the inner ; anthers oblong to linear, the outer, without the appendage, about 1 lin. long, half as long as the inner; connective produced beyond the anther cells in a subulate tip nearly 1 lin. long. Rudimentary pistil 0. Female flowers and fruit unknown.