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Holboellia (Frederick Louis Holboell, once Superintendent of Botanical Garden, Copenhagen). Lardizabalaceae. Ornamental vines grown chiefly for their handsome evergreen digitate foliage.

Twining shrubs: lvs. coriaceous, long-petioled, digitate, with 3-9 stalked entire Ifts.: fls. monoecious, in few-fld. racemes; sepals 6, petal-like, obtusish, fleshy; between the sepals and the 6 free stamens 6 small nectaries sometimes called petals; the staminate fls. with rudimentary ovaries; the pistillate with small stamens and 3 distinct carpels developing into 1-3 large oblong pods with numerous black seeds.—Five species in China and Himalayas.

The holboellias are quick-growing evergreen vines very similar in foliage to Akebia quinala but the flowers are quite different; they are either white or the pistillate are purplish and the staminate which are borne in separate racemes whitish or greenish white; they appear with the young leaves in spring and are not showy, but the large purple pods are conspicuous. None of the species is hardy North, but the plants should be tried outdoors in the South where an evergreen quick-growing climber is desired, as they make annual shoots 10 to 12 feet long, and the foliage is distinct and beautiful. For the cool greenhouse they are too rampant and produce too few flowers. Propagation is by seeds which germinate readily; also by layers and by softwood cuttings. For further cultural notes, see Staunlonia.

H. cuneata, Oliver equals Sargentodoxa cuneata.—B. fargesii, Reaubourg. Lfts. 5-9, usually oblong-lanceolate, glaucescent below: fls. ¾ in. long, purplish and greenish white. Cent. China.—H. grandiflora, Reaubourg. Lfts. 5-7, usually lanceolate, reticulate and grayish green below: fls. nearly 1 in. long, waxy white. W. China.
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