Berchemia floribunda
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Berchemia floribunda' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
- Berchemia racemosa Siebold & Zucc.
- Berchemia giraldiana C.K.Schneid.
Editorial Note
Berchemia giraldiana and B. racemosa are both now treated as synonyms of B. floribunda, but the implication of Bean’s entries under these headings is that they describe material with different provenances (Japanese in the case of B. racemosa, Chinese in the case of B. giraldiana). Accordingly, we reproduce his texts below verbatim.
Berchemia racemosa: A deciduous, twining shrub, with flexible, round, glabrous stems. Leaves ovate with a heart-shaped base, 11⁄2 to 3 in. long, half as much wide, entire, rather pale or glaucous beneath; veins in seven to nine pairs, parallel. Flowers in a terminal, pyramidal panicle 2 to 6 in. long; very small, greenish, produced in late summer. Fruit oblong, 1⁄4 in. long, changing from green to red, then to black.
Berchemia giraldiana: A deciduous scandent shrub up to 20 ft high, or dwarfer and of spreading habit, producing arching slender shoots several feet long in a season; young shoots glabrous, at first covered with a glaucous bloom, ultimately of a dark, shining, reddish brown. Leaves glabrous or slightly downy beneath, ovate-oblong, rounded, or slightly heart-shaped at the base, pointed, entire; 1 to 21⁄2 in. long, 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 in. wide; dark dull green above, rather glaucous beneath; veins in nine to thirteen pairs, parallel, running out to the margin unbranched; stalk 1⁄4 to 3⁄4 in. long. Flowers white, small, produced at the end of leafy shoots in a terminal pyramidal panicle, supplemented by smaller axillary ones, the whole 8 in. or more long. Fruits sausage-shaped, 1⁄3 in. long, at first red, finally black.
Berchemia racemosa: Native of Japan, where it forms a spreading, tangled shrub, rather than a genuine climber, but in cultivation it has reached a height of 40 ft when planted under trees. The foliage is neat and pretty, and when the plant is furnished with its handsome fruits it is both striking and attractive. But it does not produce them with regularity, and I have never seen it so good in this country as at Les Barres, in Central France, where it bears fruit abundantly. It is hardier and a better plant than B. scandens. A variegated form is in cultivation, whose leaves, especially towards the end of the shoot, are more creamy white than green.
Berchemia giraldiana: Native of China, in the provinces of Hupeh, Szechwan, and Shensi; discovered in the last-named by Giraldi. It is considered to be most nearly related to B. racemosa. It was introduced to Kew from Les Barres in France and is noticeable for its bright red-brown young shoots, graceful habit, and the numerous parallel veins of the leave
