Glycine

Glycine (Wistaria) - The noblest of all woody climbers introduced to Europe. Besides giving a beautiful covering for houses, pergolas, etc., the Wistaria is of great value in other ways, and can be grown on trees. In Mr Waterers nursery at Knap Hill it has been trained up Laburnum trees. In the end, no doubt, the Laburnums will get the worst of it, but meanwhile the two flower together, and the pale blue-purple racemes of the Wistaria and the golden ones of the Laburnum make a fine contrast. An old Oak that has seen its best days would be a suitable support for it. In getting this or any other climber to grow on living trees, the difficulty is at the start, chiefly because of the living roots of the tree on which it is to grow, and then the Wistaria should be planted well away from the trunk where sun and rain can reach it. It now and then makes very graceful standards at least in the good situations in the south, and bowers and most beautiful lace-work for summer-houses may be formed with this climber alone. A strong framework of tent shape might easily be covered with it. The timbers or irons of the roof might be close enough for the foliage of the Wistaria to cast a slight shade over the interior, and the motive would be the grace and beauty of the shrub when in flower, garlanding it, and forming a temple of graceful bloom.

Glycine Picture

Glycine max (L.) Merr. soybean

Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc. wild soybean

Related Flowers

Wistaria Brachybotrys

Wistaria Brachybotrys - Although many years since a Wistaria under this name was brought to Europe from Japan by Siebold, but little can be said of it. Judging by published figures, it appears to be a dwarf variety of W. chinensis, with racemes of the same blue-purple flowers, only shorter, as the specific name suggests. Var. alba has been spoken highly of in the United States, but I have never seen it.

Wistaria Chinensis

Wistaria Chinensis - The oldest kind introduced, and the most beautiful. Its single and double white forms are beautiful, although neither of them have the freedom of the true plant. The double variety is a poor thing.

In the Var. Macrobotrys Frutescens

In the Var. Macrobotrys Frutescens - The only species found wild in the New World. It is a climber, but not a strong grower, the flowers pale blue-purple, arranged densely in racemes 3 to 8 inches long in June. There are two varieties in cultivation, one, magnifica, has racemes over 1 foot in length; the second is a white form.

Japanese Glycine

Japanese Glycine (In the Var. Macrobotrys Multijuga) - A very beautiful plant with racemes often between 2 and 3 feet long, flowering a fortnight later than the Chinese Glycine, the blossoms much less closely packed on the spikes. The color varies in different plants, but it is always a variation of delicate lilac and white. The variety alba has flowers wholly white, and there are two forms of the plant in cultivation, one with shorter racemes. The newest form is one called rosea, with flowers of a delicate shade of rosy-lilac. Variety Russelliana has dark flowers with a pale central blotch.—W.J.B.