axillary, solitary, one-flowered. March to July. _l._
linear-lanceolate, quite entire, opposite, alternate, and three in
a whorl. _h._ 1ft. to 3ft. Port Jackson, 1824.
=B. serrulata= (serrulate).* _fl._ of a deep rose colour, very
fragrant; peduncles aggregate, terminal. July. _l._ trapeziform,
acute, serrulated in front, smooth, full of glandular dots. _h._
1ft. to 6ft. Port Jackson, 1816. (B. R. 842.)
=B. tetrandra= (four-stamened). _fl._ pale purple; pedicels short,
one-flowered. May. _l._ impari-pinnate; leaflets four to five
pairs, linear, obtuse, smooth; branches pilose. _h._ 1ft. to 4ft.
New Holland, 1824. (P. M. B. 16, 227.)
=BORRERIA= (named after William Borrer, F.L.S., a profound botanist
and cryptogamist). ORD. _Rubiaceæ_. A large genus of stove herbs or
sub-shrubs, now referred to _Spermacoce_. Flowers small, white, rarely
blue, disposed in verticillate heads, in the axils of the leaves, or on
the tops of the branches, rarely cymose or corymbose. Leaves opposite,
or the young ones disposed in fascicles in the axils of the old ones,
and therefore appearing verticillate; stipules joining with the
petioles, more or less sheathing, fringed by many bristles. Stems and
branches usually tetragonal. The species are of easy culture, thriving
in a light soil. Cuttings of the perennial kinds strike root readily
in the same kind of soil, in heat. The annual kinds require a similar
treatment to other tender annuals.
=B. stricta= (straight). A dwarf shrub, but closely allied to the
next species. Porto Rico.
=B. verticillata= (whorled-flowered). _fl._ white. July. _l._
linear lanceolate, acuminated, opposite, but appearing verticillate
from the fascicles of young leaves in the axils. _h._ 2ft. West
Indies, 1732.
=BOSCIA= (named after Louis Bosc, a French professor of agriculture).
SYN. _Podoria_. ORD. _Capparidaceæ_. A small genus of stove plants,
requiring a soil of lumpy, fibry loam and peat. Propagated by cuttings
of firm wood, placed in sand, under a glass, in heat.
=B. senegalensis= (Senegal). _fl._ white, small, apetalous,
corymbose. _h._ 3ft. Senegal, 1824. An unarmed evergreen shrub. (L.
E. M. 395.)
=BOSSIÆA= (named after M. Bossier Lamartinière, a French botanist,
who accompanied the unfortunate La Peyrouse round the world). ORD.
_Leguminosæ_. A genus of elegant Australian greenhouse shrubs. Flowers
yellow, axillary and solitary, the base of the vexillum or the keel
generally blotched or veined with purple. Leaves simple, of various
forms. A mixture of turfy loam, leaf mould, peat, and sand, with very
free drainage, suits these plants best. Half-ripened cuttings will root
freely if placed in a pot of sand with a bell glass over them, in a
cool house. Seeds should be sown, in March, on a slight hotbed.
=B. cinerea= (ashy-grey). _fl._ yellow, the vexillum furnished with
a purple circle at the base, and the keel dark purple. May. _l._
nearly sessile, cordate acute, ending in a spiny mucrone, scabrous
above, but pilose on the nerves beneath, with recurved margins.
Branches terete, crowded with leaves, vinous. _h._ 1ft. to 3ft.
1824. SYNS. _B. cordifolia_, _B. tenuicaulis_. (B. M. 3895.)
=B. cordifolia= (heart-leaved). A synonym of _B. cinerea_.
=B. disticha= (two-ranked).* _fl._ yellowish-red; peduncles
solitary, axillary, one-flowered, longer than the leaves. March to
May. _l._ distichous, ovate, obtuse. Young branches terete. _h._
1-1/2ft. Swan River, 1840. (B. R. 1841, 55.)
=B. ensata= (sword-shaped). _fl._ yellowish, with the back and
base of the vexillum of a brownish orange-purple colour; keel
brownish-purple. April. Branches flat, linear, leafless, toothed,
the teeth bearing the flowers; upper bracts distant from the lower
ones, shorter than the pedicel. _h._ 1ft. to 2ft. 1825. (S. F. A.
51.)
=B. foliosa= (leafy). _fl._ yellow and orange. May to June. _l._
alternate, small, orbicular, retuse, scabrous, with revolute
margins, silky beneath; stipules permanent, hooked, longer than the
petioles. Branches straight, terete, villous. _h._ 1ft. to 3ft.
1824.
=B. lenticularis= (lentil-leaved). A synonym of _B. rhombifolia_.
=B. linnæoides= (Linnæa-like).* _fl._ yellow; keel dark brown;
corolla about twice the length of the calyx; pedicels solitary
one-flowered, elongated. May. _l._ elliptic, mucronate. Branches
terete, prostrate, puberulous. 1824. A procumbent shrub.
=B. linophylla= (Flax-leaved).* _fl._ orange and purple. July to
August. _l._ linear, with recurved margins. Branches compressed,
leafy. _h._ 1ft. to 4ft. 1803. (B. M. 2491.)
=B. microphylla= (small-leaved). _l._ cuneiformly obcordate,
glabrous. Branches terete, leafy, spinescent; young branches rather
compressed and pubescent. _h._ 1ft. to 2ft. 1803. (L. B. C. 656.)
=B. rhombifolia= (diamond-leaved).* _fl._ yellow, the vexillum
having a dark red zonate mark at the base; wings red at the base;
keel brownish-purple. April. _l._ rhomboidal-orbicular, somewhat
emarginate and mucronate. Branches terete; branchlets compressed,
leafy. _h._ 1ft. to 3ft. 1820. SYN. _B. lenticularis_. (L. B. C.
1238.)
=B. rotundifolia= (round-leaved). _l._ roundish, or broadly
obovate, somewhat mucronate, flat, four to five lines long and five
to six broad. Branches and branchlets leafy, compressed. _h._ 1ft.
to 2ft. 1824.
=B. scolopendrium= (plank-plant). _fl._ yellow, with the back of
the vexillum and keel brownish-red. May. _l._ (when present) ovate
and smooth. Branches flat, linear, leafless, toothed, with the
teeth bearing the flowers; keel naked; superior bracts permanent,
imbricate, equal in length to the peduncles. _h._ 3ft. to 10ft.
1792. (B. M. 1235.)
=B. tenuicaulis= (slender-stemmed). Synonymous with _B. cinerea_.
=BOSWELLIA= (named after Dr. Boswell, formerly of Edinburgh). Olibanum
Tree. ORD. _Burseraceæ_. Ornamental and economic evergreen stove trees.
Flowers hermaphrodite; calyx five-toothed, permanent; petals five,
obovate-oblong, spreading, with the margins incumbent in æstivation;
disk cup-shaped, crenate; stamens ten; capsule trigonal. They are
of easy culture, thriving well in loam and peat soil. Cuttings root
readily if placed in sand under a glass.
=B. glabra= (glabrous). _fl._ white, small, with a red nectary and
yellow anthers; racemes aggregate, simple, terminal, shorter than
the leaves. _l._ impari-pinnate; leaflets broad, lanceolate, blunt,
serrated, smooth. _h._ 30ft. Coromandel, 1823. (B. F. S. 124.)
=B. serrata= (saw-edged-leaved).* _fl._ whitish-yellow; racemes
axillary, simple. _l._ impari-pinnate; leaflets ovate-oblong,
taper-pointed, serrated, pubescent. _h._ 20ft. India, 1820. (T. L.
S. xv., 4.)
=BOTANY BAY GUM.= _See_ =Xanthorrhæa arborea=.
=BOTANY BAY TEA= (and =TREE=). _See_ =Smilax glycyphylla=.
=BOTHY.= A residence for under-gardeners, usually built behind the
hothouses, or some high wall, in what is called a back shed. The
place is too frequently a cramped, ill-ventilated hovel. A Bothy
proper should be an independent structure, and fitted with modern
conveniences; for, of all people, gardeners are the most susceptible
to colds, &c. A library of standard horticultural and botanical works,
as well as a few on other scientific subjects, and a moderate number
of high-class books of fiction, one or more weekly gardening and other
papers, should be supplied by the employer. During the winter months,
for mutual improvement, lectures should be delivered, or papers read,
by each gardener, on various subjects, after which a free discussion
should take place upon the paper or lecture, by which means a great
amount of good would be accomplished.
=BOTRYCHIUM= (from _botrys_, a bunch; in reference to the bunch-like
disposition of the indusia). Moonwort. ORD. _Filices_. A genus of very
interesting and pretty little hardy ferns. Capsules sessile, arranged
in two rows on the face of spikes which form a compound panicle. They
require a compost of sandy loam; perfect drainage is most essential.
For general culture, _see_ =Ferns=.
=B. australe= (southern). A variety of _B. ternatum_.
=B. daucifolium= (Daucus-leaved). _sti._ stout, 6in. to 12in. long;
petiole of sterile segments 1in. to 6in. long, the latter 6in. to
12in. each way, deltoid, tripinnatifid or tripinnate, the lower
pinnæ largest; segments lanceolate-oblong, 1/4in. to 3/8in. broad,
finely toothed. _fertile peduncle_ equalling the sterile segments
when mature; panicle 2in. to 4in. long; tripinnate, not very close.
Himalayas, &c. Greenhouse species. SYN. _B. subcarnosum_.
=B. Lunaria.= Common Moonwort.* _sti._ 1in. to 4in. long. _sterile
segments_ sessile, or nearly so, 1in. to 3in. long, 1/2in. to
1in. broad, base much broader than the middle, cut down to a
flattened rachis into several distinct, close, entire, or notched
cuneate-flabellate pinnæ on both sides. _fertile peduncle_
equalling or exceeding the sterile portion; panicle close, 1in. to
2in. long. England, &c. Hardy. See Fig. 267.
[Illustration: FIG. 267. BOTRYCHIUM LUNARIA, showing Habit, Capsule,
and Spores.]
=B. lunarioides= (Lunaria-like). A variety of _B. ternatum_.
=B. obliquum= (oblique). A variety of _B. ternatum_.
=B. subcarnosum= (sub-fleshy). A synonym of _B. daucifolium_.
=B. ternatum= (ternate).* _sti._ 1in. to 2in. long. _petiole_ of
the sterile segments 2in. to 4in. long, the latter 3in. to 6in.
each way, deltoid, tri- or quadripinnatifid; lower pinnæ much
the largest. _fertile peduncle_ 6in. to 9in. long; panicle 1in.
to 6in. long; deltoid, very compound. Nootka and Hudson's Bay
territory. Several so-called species come very close to this,
including _australe_, _lunarioides_, and _obliquum_, which are only
geographical varieties. Greenhouse species.
=B. virginianum= (Virginian).* _sti._ 3in. to 18in. long.
_sterile segments_ sessile, 4in. to 12in. each way, deltoid,
quadripinnatifid; lower pinnæ much the largest; pinnules
oval-oblong, close, cut down to the rachis into finely cut
linear-oblong segments. _fertile peduncle_ equalling or exceeding
the sterile part of the plant when mature; panicle 1in. to 4in.
long, loose, oblong. Oregon, and North United States, 1790. A hardy
species in sheltered places. (H. G. F. 29.)
=BOTTLE-GOURD.= _See_ =Lagenaria=.
=BOTTLE-TREE.= _See_ =Sterculia rupestris=.
=BOTTOM HEAT.= This is usually secured by passing hot-water pipes
through an air chamber, or a water tank, beneath a bed of plunging
material. The covering of the tank or chamber is best made of slate.
The heat must be regulated according to the requirements of the
subjects grown; this is easily accomplished by using the valve.
A thermometer should be placed in the tank or bed. Bottom-heat
is indispensable for propagating plants from seeds and cuttings,
especially in spring. _See_ =Heating= and =Hotbeds=.
=BOUCEROSIA= (from _boukeros_, furnished with buffaloes' horns; in
reference to the curved lobes of the corona) ORD. _Asclepiadaceæ_. A
genus of greenhouse succulent perennials, allied to _Stapelia_, and
requiring the same culture. Flowers numerous, terminal, umbellate;
corolla sub-campanulate, five-cleft; segments broadly triangular, with
acute recesses; stramineous corona fifteen-lobed; lobes disposed in a
double series; the five inner ones opposite the stamens and lying upon
the anthers; the rest exterior, erect, or a little incurved at apex,
adhering to the back of the inner ones. Branches and stems tetragonal,
with toothed angles.
[Illustration: FIG. 268 BOUCEROSIA EUROPÆA.]
=B. europæa= (European). _fl._ purple-brown, yellow. Summer. _h._
4in. Sicily, 1833. SYNS. _Apteranthes_ and _Stapelia Gussoniana_.
See Fig. 268. (B. R. 1731.)
=B. maroccana= (Morocco).* _fl._ dark red purple, with yellow
concentric lines. Summer. _l._ minute, trowel-shaped, deflexed at
tip of stem angles. _h._ 4in. Morocco, 1875. (B. M. 6137.)
=BOUCHEA= (named after C. and P. Bouche, German naturalists). ORD.
_Verbenaceæ_. A small genus of stove or greenhouse evergreen herbs or
sub-shrubs. Flowers sub-sessile, in spicate racemes, which are either
terminal or in the forking of two branches; corolla funnel-shaped.
Leaves opposite, toothed. They thrive in a well-drained compost of loam
and sandy peat. Propagated by cuttings, placed in sand, under a glass,
and in a gentle heat, during spring.
=B. cuneifolia= (wedge-shaped-leaved). _fl._ white. April. _h._
4ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1821. A greenhouse evergreen shrub. SYN.
_Chascanum cuneifolium_.
=B. pseudogervao= (false-gervaô). _fl._ purplish, with white
throat; spike terminal, 6in. to 10in. long, slender. September.
_l._ opposite, ovate, or elliptic-ovate, acuminate, serrated. Stems
tetragonous. _h._ 2ft. to 5ft. Brazil, 1874. A stove perennial. (B.
M. 6221).
=BOUGAINVILLEA= (named after De Bougainville, a French navigator).
ORD. _Nyctagineæ_. Gorgeous warm greenhouse or conservatory plants,
comprising some of the most showy climbers in cultivation. Their
beauty lies in the bracts, which envelop the small greenish flowers.
_B. glabra_ may be grown in pots, or planted out in the greenhouse
borders; the others are best planted out, as they root very freely, and
plenty of space would be occupied if allowed, but it is best to limit
it, as they bloom much better. Strict training and pinching are not
desirable, being prejudicial to the free production of bloom; indeed,
the best plan is to allow the plants to ramble freely over the roof of
a moderately high house, or along the upper portion of a back wall;
they will then bloom profusely for several months in the year, provided
proper attention be paid to watering, and that the plants are in a
well-drained situation. In preparing a border for their reception, the
first point to be considered is the drainage, which must be perfect.
This is best effected by placing a layer of brick rubbish, 6in. to 9in.
in thickness, communicating with the drain, by which means all sourness
and stagnancy of the soil will be obviated. The bed should be excavated
to a depth of 18in. or 2ft. Three parts turfy loam, and one part
leaf soil, with the admixture of a liberal quantity of sharp gritty
sand, will form a suitable compost for the culture of Bougainvilleas.
The amount of sand incorporated must depend upon the quality of the
other components, heavy loam requiring more than that which is more
friable. The occasional incorporation of manure in the compost is not
to be recommended; but a liberal application of liquid manure will be
of material advantage, especially if the root space is limited. When
the plants cease blooming each year-about November or December-they
should be dried off and rested; and in February they should be closely
spurred in, the same as with vines, and all weak leaders removed, so
that strong wood only is left. When grown in pots, they must be started
in brisk heat. They are easily increased by cuttings prepared from the
half-ripened wood; these should be placed in sandy soil, in a brisk
bottom heat, when they will soon root. Scale, red spider, and mealy bug
are the only insects likely to infest the plants, and recipes for their
destruction will be found under each individual name.
[Illustration: FIG. 269. FLOWERING BRANCH OF BOUGAINVILLEA SPECTABILIS.]
=B. glabra= (smooth).* _fl._, inflorescence panicled, smaller than
that of _B. speciosa_, each branchlet producing cordate-ovate acute
rosy bracts, in threes. Summer. _l._ bright green, smooth. Brazil,
1861. This is by far the best species for pot culture, and forms a
very showy plant when well grown.
=B. speciosa= (beautiful).* _fl._, bracts large, cordate, delicate
lilac rose, produced in immense panicles, which, in well grown
specimens, are so freely produced as to entirely shroud the whole
plant. March to June. _l._ ovate, very dark green, covered on
the upper surface with small hairs. Stems branched, abundantly
furnished with large recurved spines. Brazil, 1861. (F. M. i., 62.)
=B. spectabilis= (showy). _fl._, bracts of a dull brick-red, shaded
with scarlet. South America, 1829. It is very difficult to obtain
bloom on this plant; and when flowers are produced, they are
extremely ephemeral. The species is, for all practical purposes,
much inferior to either of the foregoing. SYN. _Josepha augusta_.
See Fig. 269.
=BOURBON PALM.= _See_ =Latania=.
=BOUSSINGAULTIA= (named after Boussingault, a celebrated chemist).
ORD. _Chenopodiaceæ_. Very pretty half-hardy, tuberous-rooted plants,
requiring a rich vegetable sandy soil, and a well-drained sunny aspect,
under which conditions the first-mentioned species develops into a
very luxuriant trailing plant, attaining a length of 20in. or more.
Propagated freely by means of the tubercles of the stem; these are,
however, extremely brittle.
=B. baselloides= (Basella-like).* _fl._ white, ultimately becoming
black, fragrant, small, disposed in clusters, 2in. to 4in. long,
which are axillary at the ends of the branches. Late autumn. _l._
alternate, cordate, smooth, shining, fleshy, slightly wavy. Stems
very twining, tinged red, very quick-growing, producing tubercles.
South America, 1835. (B. M. 3620.)
=B. Lachaumei= (Lachaume's). _fl._ rose, constantly in perfection.
Cuba, 1872. A stove species.
[Illustration: FIG. 270. FLOWERING BRANCH OF BOUVARDIA.]
=BOUVARDIA= (named after Dr. Charles Bouvard, formerly superintendent
of the Jardin du Roi, at Paris). ORD. _Rubiaceæ_. Handsome greenhouse
evergreen shrubs. Peduncles terminal, three-flowered, or trichotomous
and corymbose; corolla funnel-shaped, tubular, elongated, beset with
velvety papillæ outside, and a four-parted, spreading, short limb.
Leaves opposite, or in whorls; stipules narrow, acute, adnate to the
petioles on both sides. These extensively cultivated plants are among
the most useful for conservatory or greenhouse decoration (see Fig.
270. for which we are indebted to Messrs. Cannell and Sons), and
the flowers are largely employed in a cut state. Perhaps only two
are fragrant, viz., _jasminiflora_ and _Humboldtii_. Cultivation:
Presuming the grower to be commencing with young rooted cuttings, these
should be potted off into a mixture of good fibrous loam, leaf soil,
and sand, in equal proportions, to which may be added a small quantity
of peat; they should then be placed in a temperature of from 70deg.
to 80deg. until fully established in the small pots. It is necessary
at this stage to stop the young plants back to the first joint, and
as they continue to make fresh breaks, to keep on pinching them back
during the whole period of cultivation, or until sufficiently bushy
plants are produced. Many growers neglect stopping far too much, the
result being ill-shaped and almost flowerless plants. The pinching, of
course, can be regulated by the time the plants are required to flower;
and it is unwise, in most cases, to stop them after the end of August.
When the small pots are well filled with roots, the plants should be
shifted into the flowering pots, viz., large 48-sized, which are quite
commodious enough to grow very fine plants, a similar compost as in the
first potting, with a little Standen's manure added, being used, and
good drainage provided. A cool greenhouse, with a damp bottom for the
pots to rest upon, and with a moist atmosphere, is the most suitable
place in which to grow them during late spring and early summer, the
moist air being very desirable as an effectual check to red spider,
a pest very fond of the foliage, which it permanently disfigures.
A cold pit or close frame is better during the summer months, as a
moist atmosphere and cool bottom are then certain. Ventilation may
be effected during the greater part of the day by tilting the lights
below, and on fine nights they may be removed altogether. During
bright sunshine, shading will be beneficial. All through the period
of active growth, it is absolutely necessary that the plants should
receive plenty of water, or they will surely suffer; and when the
pots are filled with roots, occasional doses of manure water will be
beneficial. Many cultivators plant them out about the end of June, in
favoured situations, or in spent hotbeds, when they make very vigorous
growth; and, if carefully pinched and watered, fine specimens are
obtained. These are lifted in early autumn, with a good ball, potted,
and kept shaded for a few days until the roots are again active, when
they are taken to the house in which they are intended to bloom, and
an enormous supply of flowers is secured. We have also seen Bouvardias
planted out permanently in beds, in prepared pits, in which the winter
temperature was not less than 55deg., with very satisfactory results;
the quantity of bloom being very great. Of course, with the last-named
treatment, it is essential to give the plants a rest and hardening-off
after flowering, and when they are started into fresh growth to keep
them well pinched and watered. Bouvardias are liable to the attacks of
red spider and green fly. The former stands little chance of existence
if the plants are kept well supplied with moisture; the latter may be
destroyed by fumigating with tobacco. Mealy bug are also troublesome,
and should be sponged off with a solution of Gishurst's Compound.
Propagation: After flowering, and a slight rest and hardening-off, the
old plants should be cut back, placed in heat, in a stove or cucumber
pit, and freely syringed, which will cause them to break freely, and
produce a good supply of cuttings. When the young shoots are from
1-1/2in. to 2in. long., they are in the best condition for striking. It
is not necessary that they should be cut off at a joint, as they will
root from any surface of the stem; and, working economically, it is
wiser to cut them off just above the first joint, as other shoots will
speedily break out, which may, in their turn, be taken. Pots about 5in.
across should have previously been prepared for the cuttings, by being
well drained and filled with a mixture of good fibrous loam, leaf soil,
and coarse sand, in equal parts, with a copious supply of sand upon
the surface, into which the cuttings should be dibbled pretty thickly.
A good watering must be given without wetting, and thereby injuring,
the foliage. The pots should be plunged in the cutting case, or in any
bottom heat of about 70deg. or 80deg., and covered with a bell glass.
All that is then necessary is to keep them moist and shady during
sunshine, until they are rooted, which, as a rule, is effected in three
weeks' time. When well established, they may be removed from the case,
gradually hardened off, and finally potted singly into small thumb pots.
=B. angustifolia= (narrow-leaved).* _fl._ pale red; corymbs
somewhat trichotomous. September. _l._ three in a whorl,
lanceolate, with revolute edges, glabrous above, but beset with
fine hairs beneath. Branches terete, smoothish. _h._ 2ft. Mexico,
1838. (P. M. B. 7, 99.)
=B. Cavanillesii= (Cavanilles's). _fl._ red; peduncles terminal,
trifid, three-flowered. May. _l._ opposite, ovate-lanceolate,
acuminated, rather villous beneath. _h._ 1-1/2ft. Mexico, 1846.
SYN. _B. multiflora_. (J. H. S. 3, 246.)
=B. flava= (yellow).* _fl._ yellow, drooping; racemes three to
five-flowered; pedicels downy, slender. March. _l._ opposite,
ovate-lanceolate, ciliated; stipules setaceous. _h._ 1-1/2ft.
Mexico, 1845. (B. R. 32, 32.)
=B. hirtella= (hairy). _fl._ pale red or flesh-coloured, corymbose.
_l._ whorled, lanceolate, with revoluted edges, hairy on both
surfaces. Branches terete. Mexico.
=B. Humboldtii corymbiflora= (Humboldt's corymb-flowered).* _fl._
white, large, fragrant, disposed in terminal racemes; tubes long.
Autumn and winter. _l._ ovate, oblong-acuminate, dark green. 1874.
One of the finest kinds in cultivation. (G. C. 1873, 717.)