42 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



BAN 



enormous. The cane is porous in the center 

 and partly hollow. ' Externally the epidermis 

 is composed of a hard wood, into which silex 

 enters so largely that it will strike fii*e with a 

 steel like a piece of flint. Although this plant 

 grows spontaneously and most profusely in 

 nearlj' all the immense southern districts of 

 the Chinese Empire, yet the Chinese give the 

 cultivation of this reed great care and atten- 

 tion. They have treatises and whole volumes 

 Bolely on this subject, laying down rules 

 derived from experience, and showing the 

 proper soils, the best kinds of water, and the 

 seasons for planting and transplanting 

 the useful production. The variety of pur- 

 poses to which the Bamboo is applied is 

 almost endless. The Chinese use it, in one 

 way or other, for nearlj' everything they 

 require. The sails of their ships, as well as 

 the masts and rigging, consist chiefly of 

 Bamboo, manufactured in different ways. 

 Almost every article of furniture in their 

 houses, including mats, screens, chairs, tables, 

 bedsteads, and bedding, are made of the same 

 material; and in some sections entire dwell- 

 ings are constructed of Bamboo. Fine paper 

 is made from the fiber of tiiis plant. In shdrt, 

 scarcely anything is to be found in China either 

 upon land or water, into the composition of 

 which Bamboo does not enter. The same 

 extensive use is also made of this reed in 

 Japan, Java, Sumatra, Siam, and other East- 

 ern countries. 



Bana'na or Plantain Tree. Musa Sapientum. 

 Abyssinian. Muf>a Ensele. 

 Dwarf Chinese. Musa Cavendishii. 



Banded Rush. See Scirpios. 



Bane-berry. See Actcta spicata. 



Bane-Avort. Atropa belladonna. 



Baiuste'ria. A name applied to a genus of 

 tiie natural family, Malphighiacea:, consisting 

 of trees or shrubs, frequently climbing. They 

 are natives of Brazil and the West Indies. 

 Several are in cultivation for the sake of their 

 pretty, j-ellow flowers and in some instances, 

 fine foliage. Propagated by cuttings. 



Ba'nksia. A genus of Profeacem, established by 

 the younger Linnteus in honor of Sir Jofieph 

 Bank<i. Green-house evergreens principally 

 grown for the beauty of their foliage, which 

 is remarkable for its harsh, rigid coriaceous 

 character. The leaves are generally dark green 

 on the upper surface and clothed with a white 

 or rufous down beneath, their margins being 

 either deeply serrated or spinous, rarely 

 entire. This genus is peculiar to Australia 

 and contains upwards of fifty species. 



Banner Plant. The genus Anthurium. 



Banyan Tree. See Ficus indica. 



Baobab Tree. See Adansonia digitata. 



Ba'phia. Camwood. Bar^vood. From baphe, a 

 dye, referring to the use of the wood in dyeing. 

 Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 



B. nitida, the only species, produces the 

 Camwood or Barwood of commerce. It 

 is an evergreen tree, growing to the 

 height of fifty feet, with shining green 

 leaves, composed of two pairs of leaflets 

 and an odd one. Its flowers are yellow, 

 and bear some resemblance to the common 

 laburnum. It is a native of Sierra Leone, 

 and forms an important article of commerce. 



BAR 



The native women on the west coast of Africa 

 use the pounded wood for painting their 

 bodies ; amulets are also made of it, and it is 

 used in their Fetish ceremonies. Introduced 

 in 1793. 



Bapti'sia. From bapto, to dye ; some of the 

 species possessing dyeing properties. Nat. 

 Ord. LeguminosoR. 



This genus of native plants (commonly 

 called False Indigo) are rather pretty for the 

 border. Flowers are white, blue or j-ellow. 

 They grow in any good garden soil, and are 

 increased by division. 



Barbace'nia. Named after M. Barbacena, a 

 rroveriior of Minas Geraes. Nat. Ord. 

 Amaryllidacecp. 



Very pretty and singular herbaceous 

 perennials. B. purpurea, has flowers of 

 moderate size, of the richest velvety purple 

 imaginable, leaves narrow, long, and droop- 

 ing in the way of Pandanus graminifolius. 

 "Lindley" says that they are capable of 

 existing in a dry, hot air, without contact 

 with the earth, on which account they are 

 favorites in South American gardens, where, 

 with Orchids and Bromeliads, they are sus- 

 pended in the dwelling houses, or hung to the 

 balustrades of the balconies, in wliich situa- 

 tion, they floAver abundantly, fllling the air 

 with their fragrance. 



Barbadoes Cherry. Malpighia glabra. 



Barbadoes Gooseberry. See Pereskia. 



Barbadoes Lily. Hippeastnim equestris. 



Barbadoes Pride. Adenanthera Pavonina. 



Barbare'a. Winter Cress. So named on ac- 

 count of its having been formerly called the 

 Herb of St. Barbara. Nat. Ord. CrucifercB. 



B. vtdgaris is a hardj^ herbaceous plant, in 

 earl}' days esteemed as a salad. It closely 

 resembles the common Water Cress, but 

 grows on dry soils. Its use is now discarded. 

 It is a native of Europe, and has become 

 naturalized in some parts of this country. 



Barbate. Having long, soft hairs in one or 

 more tufts. 



Barberry. See Berberis. 



Barbs. Hooked hairs. 



Barcla'ya. A singular genus of East Indian 

 aquatics, belonging to the Nat. Ord. Nymphce- 

 acecB. 



They bear but little resemblance to the 

 ordinary water-lilies,thougli botanically allied. 

 As botanical specimens they are very interest- 

 ing; as flowering plants they are not likely to 

 occupy a very prominent place in the list of 

 ornamental plants. 



Bark. All the outer integuments of a plant 

 beyond, the wood, and formed of tissue 

 parallel with it. It is also. the officinal name 

 given to the cortical laj-ers c^f various plants, 

 used chiefly for medicinal and tanning pur- 

 poses. The name is, par ejccellence, applied to 

 the Peruvian or Cinchona barks, the source 

 of Quinine. Of these there are many varie- 

 ties, namely : Calisaya Bark, Royal Yellow, 

 Cinchxma Calisaya; Light Calisaya, C. Bolivi- 

 ana, C. scrobindaia; Peruvian Calisaya, C. 

 scrobicidata {Delondriana) ; Carabaja Asii, 

 Jaen, C. ovata ; Dark Jaen. C villosa ; Hard 

 Carthagena, C. cordifoUa, Woody Carthagena, 

 C. Condaminea ; Spongy Carthagena, Coquetta, 

 Bogota, C. lancifolia, {Condaminea) ; Crown, 



