warm regions of the globe. 
O. minimum 
AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 467 
Ocimum continued. 
Flowers often white, small, or 
mediocre ; whorls six to ten- flowered, disposed in termin 
simple, or paniculate racemes; bracts rarely exceedii d 
the domes, of the species have any horticultural 
though O. Basilicum is largely grown in pots, on 
tinent, for room decoration. For culture, &e., of 
1al species, see Basil, Sweet. The shrubby kinds 
increased by cuttings of the young shoots, in- 
* e, 
tne ger 
the annu 
- sértéd in sandy soil, in a frame, and kept shaded until 
rooted. All like well-drained, rather dry, sandy loam. 
G 1 
. sa 
; 
Fic. 712. PORTION OF PLANT AND PIECE OF DETACHED 
INFLORESCENCE OF OCIMUM BASILICUM, 
O. Basilicum. Common, or Sweet Basil. fl. white; racemes 
simple. August. J. petiolate, ovate or oblong, narrowed at the 
base, a little toothed. h. 1ft. Warm ron of Asia and Africa, 
1548. Erect or ascending annual. See Fig. 712. 
O. canum e ji. white, in simple racemes ; calyces longer 
than the pedicels. 
July. . petiolate, ovate, narrowed at both 
ends, almost entire. canescent beneath. h. lft. Madagascar, &c., 
1822, Plant erect, 
herbaceous, pubescent. (B. M. 2452.) 
o. febrifugum (febrifuge). A synonym of O. viride. 
0. r 
(thready). fl. white, rather large, in simple 
~~ racemes; corolla four times as long as the 7 — July to October. 
Z. shortly petiolate, ovate-oblong, narrowed at both ends, acutely 
errated, finely pubescent. Stem shrubb: branched, tomentose. 
k. 2ft. to 3ft. Taak Africa, 1802. (B. R. 15, under name of 
Becium bicolor.) 
cran small-flowered small, arranged in whorls 
Oy cee. N leafless 8 corolla nearly white. May. 
J. rather long-stalked; young ones oblong, acuminated; older 
ones 3in. or more long, broadly ovate, acute, serrated. k. 8in, to 
10in, West Indies, 1825. Annual. (B. M. 2996, under name of 
O. montanum.) 2 
(least). Pa Basil. 5 8 > 2 coe 
es; whorls loose, Summer. on lo „ 0 
ee or quite entire. Stem erect, finely pubescent. h. bin. to 
12in. Chili, 1575. Annual. 5 
o. montanum (mountain). A synonym of O. micranthum. 
o. scutellarioides (Scutellaria-like). A synonym of Coleus 
scutellarioides. 
0. viride n). fl. greenish-white, in branched racemes ; corolla 
a 
4 
4 
tube short or campanulate; 
(gree! 
eding the calyx. July to October. l. petiolate, ovate- 
S crenated, narrow base, glabrous or 
downy on the ribs; floral ones bract-formed. Stem shrubby, 
branched. A. 2ft. to 4ft. West Africa, 1816. The leaves of this 
ies are used in the manner of tea, as a febrifuge, at Sierra 
Leone, under the name of Fever Plant. (B. R. 753, under name of 
O. febrifugum.) 
OCOTEA (said to be the native name of the tree in 
Guiana). Syn. Oreodaphne. ORD. Laurinee. A large 
genus (about 200 species) of stove or greenhouse trees, 
or rarely shrubs, for the most part natives of tropical and 
sub-tropical America, a few being found in the Canary 
Islands, South Africa, and the Mascarene Islands. Flowers 
small, glabrous, or rarely slightly tomentose, disposed in 
axillary or almost terminal pedunculate panicles ; perianth 
limb segments six. Leaves 
Ocotea—continued. i 
alternate or scattered, rarely almost opposite, coriaceous, 
penniveined. The undermentioned is probably the only 
species yet introduced. It thrives in well-drained loam, 
and is propagated by cuttings of the young ripened wood, 
inserted, during summer, in a sandy soil, under a bell glass, 
O, bullata (blistered). jl. green, remarkably small, racemose, 
J. olive or brownish-green, rnate, coriaceous, elliptical, entire, 
acute, rather obtuse at base, and having at the axils of two or 
— of — ae vented veins on 4 — under side s or 
ollows, e ng on the upper n ations 
3 the s c name). K pe of Good Hope, G 
(B. M. 3931, under name of Oreodaphne ata.) 
O. californica, See Umbellularia californica. l 
OCTADESMIA (from okto, eight, and desme, a 
bundle; in reference to the eight pollen masses). Orn, 
Orchideœ. A genus comprising only three species of 
stove, epiphytal orchids, natives of Jamaica and San 
Domingo. Flowers mediocre, shortly pedicellate; sepals 
almost of equal length, somewhat spreading; petals a 
little broader than the sepals; lip at base of column 
nearly erect; peduncle terminal, simple or slightly 
branched. Leaves linear-lanceolate, distichous, some- 
what rigid, not fleshy. O. montana, the only 
in cultivation, is a singular little orchid, more curious 
than beautiful. It succeeds in an in house, 
compost of peat 
planted in a small teak basket, using a t 
fibre, sphagnum, and bits of charcoal. Water must be 
liberally supplied during summer, and, to a considerable 
extent, withheld during winter. 
O. montana (mountain). — white, suffused wit 
colour; sepals and petals lanceolate ; lip oblong- » crenu- 
late; raceme terminal, few-flowered. ber. 7, distichous, 
serrulate at apex, linear-lanceolate, sheathed at base, h. bin. 
Rio Janeiro, 1826. (B. M. 2823, under name of Qctomeria 
serratifolia.) 
OCTANDROUS. Having eight stamens, 
OCTOGYNOUS. Having eight styles. 
OCTOMERIA (from okto, eight, and meris, a part; 
SYN, i 
a fulvous 
large 
For their cultivation they require greenhouse treatment. 
They thrive in pots of peat and sphagnum, and require 
abundance of water at all times. ; 
lia (grass-l ellow, with two red 
3 Pen Mli 
spots; perigonal divisions 
shorter ; lip cuneate-oblong, blunt, or minu denticulate at 
the summit, obliquely two-crested, and with two short la 
lobes at the middle. May. l lanceolate-linear, A. Gin. West 
Indies, 1793. (B. M. 2764.) F 
O. Saundersiana M sapene had A. pale allow, with Lr 
le stri on sepals 7 ochre : 
disk and Kalli mauve, streaked arit, and numerously 
dotted. Winter. l thick, terete, subulate. Brazil, 180. 
o. serratifolia (serrate-leaved). A synonym of Octadesmia 
montana. 
„ tricolor (three-coloured). fl. white, small, , cuneate- 
8 — — with purple benenth. Brazil, 1872. 
OCTOMERIA (of Don). A synonym of Eria. 
OCYMUM. A synonym of Ocimum (which see). 
ODES, OIDES. A Greek termination, signifying 
similarity ; e. 9., Phyllodes, leaf-like. 
ODONTADENTIA (from odous, odontos, a tooth, and 
aden, a gland; in allusion to the five-toothed glands). 
Syns. Anisolobus, Cylicadenia. ORD. Apocynacee. A 
genus comprising about eighteen species of stove, scandent 
