Plants in the Hortus

Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.

Veronica spicata L. var. hybrida

Perennial herb with erect hairy stems, shallowly toothed, lance-shaped leaves and densely-flowered, terminal spikes of blue flowers. To 60cm. [RHSD]. This plant is not a hybrid and is now considered to be a form of Veronica spicata L. which see.

Veronica spuria L.

Fully hardy, erect perennial with lance-shaped, opposite leaves in whorls of 3-4, and lax terminal panicles of blue flowers in early summer. To 90cm. [RHSD, Hortus].

Viburnum arboreum Britton

Tree with a straight trunk and spreading branches. To 15m. Confined to St Catherine, St James and Trelawny in woodland on limestone hills. Listed on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. [www.iucnredlist.org].

Viburnum cassinoides L.

Hardy, rounded, bushy, deciduous shrub with leathery, toothed, ovate leaves, to 10cm long, changing to scarlet in autumn, and flat clusters of yellowish-white flowers in summer, followed by red fruits which ripen to black. To 2.4m. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum japonicum (Thunb.) Spreng.

Fully hardy, rounded, evergreen shrub with stout shoots, ovate, glossy, sparsely-toothed leaves, to 15cm long, and spherical cymes, to 10cm across, of small, tubular, fragrant white flowers in summer, followed by bright red fruit. To 2m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum macrocephalum ‘Sterile’

A form of Viburnum macrocephalum Fortune. Frost-hardy, rounded, evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub with elliptic, toothed leaves, to 10cm long, and dense, terminal cymes, to 15cm across, of salverform white flowers in spring. To 5m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers']. Possibly naturally occurring, although long selected in gardens, and treated as a variety rather than a cultivar here.

Viburnum obovatum Walt.

Fully hardy, semi-evergreen shrub with shiny, glossy, ovate leaves, nearly entire, and cymes of white flowers in spring. To 2.4m. [Hortus, Don].

Viburnum odoratissimum Ker-Gawl.

Frost-hardy, vigorous, bushy, evergreen shrub with oval, leathery leaves, and large, conicle panicles of fragrant white flowers in late summer, followed by red fruits, ripening to black. To 5m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum opulus L.

Fully hardy, vigorous, bushy, deciduous shrub with maple-like, usually 3-lobed leaves, to 10cm long, turning red in autumn, and flat, lace-cap-like, terminal cymes, to 8cm across, of tubular white flowers, surrounded by flat, white, ray-florets, in spring and summer followed by red berries. To 5m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum plicatum Thunb.

Likely to be the sterile garden form which was introduced by Robert Fortune some time before the wild form. It is a fully hardy, spreading, bushy, deciduous shrub with heart-shaped, toothed, deeply-veined leaves, to 10cm long, turning red-purple in autumn, and dense, spherical, terminal cymes, to 8cm across, of saucer-shaped, sterile white flowers, in spring. To 3m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum rigidum Vent.

Half hardy evergreen shrub of open habit, with oval leaves, to 15cm long, and flattened corymbs of white flowers in early spring, followed by blue to black fruits. To 3m. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum tinus L.

Fully hardy, compact, bushy, evergreen shrub with oblong leaves, to 10cm long, and flattened terminal cymes, to 10cm across, of small, salverform white flowers in late winter and spring, followed by black fruit. To 3m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Viburnum tinus L. var. lucidum Ait.

For a description of the type see Viburnum tinus L. Lucidum is a more vigorous form with larger leaves and flower heads than the type. [Hortus, Hilliers’].

Vigna caracalla (L.) Verdc.

Frost-tender, fast growing, evergreen, twining perennial climber with 3-palmate leaves and erect axillary racemes, to 30cm, of coiled, snail-like, pink, white or yellow flowers in summer to winter, followed by green bean-shaped fruit. In parts of Europe and Africa the beans are eaten as a substitute for the kidney bean. To 8m [RHSE, Hortus].

Vinca major L.

Fully-hardy, prostrate, evergreen shrub with arching shoots and long, non-rooting trailing stems, lance-shaped leaves, to 9cm long, and blue-violet, salverform flowers, to 5cm across, from spring to autumn. To 45cm. [RHSE, Hilliers’, Hortus].

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