AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



49 



BET 



tne best plants under cultivation for that 

 use. It is a native of the British coasts. 

 The Chilian Beet, B. Chiliensis, a species of 

 recent introduction, a native of Chili, as its 

 name implies, is becoming popular for orna- 

 mental gardening, particularly for large rib- 

 bon borders, the two varieties, one with 

 bright yellow, the other with crimson foliage, 

 contrasting finely with other plants. 



Betony. The common name of Stachys Be- 

 tonica. 



Be'tula. Birch. From its Celtic name, betu. 

 Nat. Ord. Betulacece. 



An extensive g-^nus of deciduous trees, com- 

 mon in all the cold and inhospitable climates. 

 Some of the species are the last trees found 

 as we approach the snow in the most elevated 

 districts. ThI- genus is largely represented 

 in our Nortiiern States by B. alba, the com- 

 mon White Birch, which, from the tremulous 

 habit of the foliage, is in some localities called 

 Poplar Birch. This species is remarkable for 

 its elegance. It seldom divides the main 

 stem, which extends to the summit of the tree, 

 giving out from all parts numerous slender 

 branches, forming a very neat and beautiful 

 spray of a dark chocolate color, contrasting 

 finely with the whiteness of the trunk. When 

 grown as a single specimen, this tree assumes 

 a beautiful pyramidal form, making a moder- 

 ate-sized tree of great beauty. B. lenta is the 

 Black or Cherry Birch, so named from its 

 resemblance to the American Black Cherries. 

 The bark of the young twigs of this species 

 has a sweet, aromatic taste. The wood is 

 dark rose color, fine-grained, and much used 

 in fine cabinet work. There are several other 

 native species common in our Northern States, 

 all interesting, mostly low-growing trees or 

 large shrubs. 



Beurre'. A general name applied to a class of 

 dessert Pears, which have their flesh of what 

 is called a buttery texture, as the name itself 

 indicates. 



Bi. In compounds signifies twice ; as Bicolor, 

 tM'o-colored ; Bidentate, with two teeth. 



Bidens. The botanical name of the well-known 

 Beggar's Ticks. 



Bidwi'llia. Named after Mr. Bidmll, of Sydney, 

 an ardent cultivator of bulbs. Nat. Ord. 

 Liliacece. 



A small genus of Australian and Peruvian 

 bulbs, allied to Anthericum. The flowers 

 are white, borne in racemes, and differing but 

 little from the Asphodelus. Propagated by 

 offsets. 



Biennial. Lasting two years. A biennial plant 

 requires two years to form its flowers and 

 fruit ; growing one year, and flowering, fruit- 

 ing and dying the next. This, however, is 

 not true of all climates. Many plants that are 

 classed as biennials in England, when sown 

 in the southern parts of the United States, or 

 in a hot-bed in March, at the North, and 

 planted out in summer, will flower, seed, and 

 die just as many annuals do. 



Bifrena'ria. From bis, twice, and froRnum, a 

 strap ; in reference to the double strap, or 

 baud, by means of which the pollen masses 

 are connected with their gland. Nat. Ord. 

 Orehida^em. 



A genus of pretty orchids, closely allied to 

 Maxillaria, differing very slightly from that 



BIL 



genus, and succeeding well under the same 

 treatment. B. HarrisonicE, a veiy beautiful 

 white species, with a purple lip, is known in 

 cultivation under the following synonyms : 

 Colax, Dendrobium, Lycaste, and Maxillaria 

 Marri.'ioniw. 

 Bigno'nia. Trumpet Creeper. Named after 

 Abbe Bignon, librarian to Louis XIV. Nat. 

 Ord. BignoniaceoB. 



An extensive genus of highly ornamental 

 plants, and the type of an order equallj- beauti- 

 ful. Most of the species are hot-house 

 climbers, though a few assume a more arbo- 

 I'escent character. B. capreolata, a native of 

 Florida, is sufficiently hardy to withstand our 

 severest weather when trained against a wall. 

 The flowers of all are large and showy, pro- 

 duced in panicles, and are of various colors, 

 red, blue, white, or yellow. They should be 

 grown in rich loam, in a sunny position, or 

 they will not flower well. Introduced in 1820. 

 B. radicans, is a synonj'm of Tecovia radicans, 

 which see. 



B. Veyiusta, one of the most beautiful of the 

 genus, is particularly suited for large green- 

 houses, for training on rafters, or festooning 

 between pillars, etc. Producing its rich, 

 orange-red flowers in clusters, in great pro- 

 fusion, during the winter months, makes it 

 still more desirable. B. magnifica, with flow- 

 ers varying from delicate mauve to rich pur- 

 plish crimson, introduced from Columbia in 

 1879, is another verj' handsome and showy 

 species, flowering in summer. 



Bignonia'ceae. A large, order of trees, or twin- 

 ing shrubby plants, with usually opposite 

 compound leaves, and show}-, often trumpet- 

 shaped flowers. The plants are found in the 

 tropical regions of both hemispheres, but most 

 largely in the eastern. In Amexnca they 

 extend from Pennsylvania in the North to 

 Chili in the South. Some yield dyes, and 

 others supply timber. There are forty-six 

 genera, and o^'er 150 known species. Bignania, 

 Catalpa, Tecoina and Eccromocarpus are rep- 

 resentative genera. 



Big-Root. See Megarrhiza. 



Billardie'ra. Apple Berrj-. Named after Labil- 

 lardiere, a French botanist. Nat. Ord. Pittos- 

 poracece. 



A small genus of green-house evergreen 

 climbers, natives of Australia and Tasmania. 

 The species are not remarkable for beauty of 

 plant or flower, but are highly esteemed for 

 their sub-acid fruit, which is pleasant and 

 wholesome. The fruit is a small berry, either 

 blue or amber-colored. Propagated by cut- 

 tings. 



Billbe'rgia. Nam^d after Billberg, a Swedish 

 botanist. Nat. Ord. BromeliacecB. 



These are handsome plants when well grown. 

 The colors of the flowers are at once rich, 

 vivid, and delicate, and are usually contrasted 

 in the highest manner by the equally bright 

 tints of the colored bi'acts. They should be 

 grown in pots of rich loam, in a warm green- 

 house, or plunged into an active hot-bed until 

 the growth is completed, when a cooler and 

 drier place, as on a shelf of the hot-house, 

 will induce them to flower freely. Propagated 

 by suckers. Introduced from Brazil in 1825. 



Btllberry. See Vaceinium. 



Bilstead. A common name of the Liquidambar . 



