AND GENERAL HOETICULTURE. 



61 



BUR 



Burning Bush. Dictamnus Fraxinella. 

 American. Euonymus alropurpureus. 



Burtonia. Named after D. Burton, a col- 

 lector for the Kew Gardens. Nat. Ord. Legii- 

 minoscB. 



A small genus of dwarf, heath-like shrubs, 

 natives of Australia. The flowers are pea- 

 shaped, axillary, and often thickly gathei-ed 

 on the ends of the branches ; the corolla rich 

 purple, the keel of a deeper color, and the 

 standard generally having a yellow blotch 

 at its base. There are only a few species 

 under cultivation, but they are all conspic- 

 uous objects in the green-house. They 

 come into flower in April, and are propagated 

 from cuttings of the half-ripened wood. Intro- 

 duced in 1803. 



Bur Reed. See Sparganium. 



Bur-weed. The common name for Xanthium. 



Bush Clover. The popular name of the genus 

 Lespedeza. 



Bush Honeysuckle. A popular name for the 

 genus Diervilla. 



Butcher's Broom. See Ruscus. 



Butoma'ceae. An order of aquatic plants now 

 generally included under Alismacecs. 



Bu'tomus. Flowering Rush. From bovs, an ox, 

 and temno, to cut; in reference to its acrid 

 juice causing the mouth to bleed. Nat. Ord. 

 Alismacece. 



B. umbellatus is a beautiful aquatic plant, 

 common in the marshes of Great Britain. 

 Gerarde (1629), in speaking of this plant says : 

 •' The Water Gladiole, or Grassie Rush, is of 

 all others the fairest and most pleasant to be- 

 hold, and serveth very well for the decking 

 and trimming up of houses, because of the 

 beautie and braverie thereof." A variety 

 with striped leaves, lately introduced, is now 

 highly recommended for collections of aquatic 

 plants. 



Butter-and-Eggs. A local name for Idnaria 

 vulgaris. 



CAB 



Butter-Bur. Petasites vulgaris. 



Buttercup. See Ranunculus. 



Butterfly Flower. The genus Schizanthvs. 



Butterfly Orchid. Oncidivm Papilio. 



E. Indian. Phalcenopsis amabilis, and others. 



Butterfly Orchis. Habernaria chlorantha, and 

 H. bifolia. 



Butterfly Pea. A name sometimes given to 

 Clitoria. 



Butterfly Weed. A popular name for Asrlepias 

 tuberosa. 



Butternut See Juglans. 



Butter Tree. See Bassia. 



Butterwort. See Pinguicula. 



Button Bush. Cephalanthus occidentalis. 



Button Flower. The genus Gomphia. 



Button Snake-root. Liatris pycnostackya. 



Button "Weed. Centaurea nigra. 



Button Wood. See Platanus. 



Bu'xus. A small but important genus of Spurge- 

 worts {EuphorbiacexB), one species of which is 

 the well known common evergreen Box of 

 our gardens, employed both as an ornamental 

 shrub and as an edging plant for walks, etc. 

 It is a native of both Europe and Asia, but 

 found principally in Spain, Italy, the coasts of 

 the Black Sea, Persia, Northern India, and 

 Japan. It varies considerably in height, 

 some varieties growing twenty-five to thirty 

 feet, with a trunk of eight to ten inches in 

 diameter, while others never exceed three to 

 four feet, and have very small stems. It is 

 most valued for its wood, the chief character- 

 istics of which are, excessive hardness, great 

 weight, evenness and closeness of grain, light 

 color, and being susceptible of a fine polish. 

 These are the qualities that render it so 

 valuable to the Avood engraver, the turner, 

 mathematical and musical instrument makers, 

 and others. 



c. 



Caapeba, Pareira Brava Root, or Velvet- 

 Leaf. See Cissampelos. 

 Cabbage. Brassica oleracea. For the following 

 history of the Cabbage we are indebted to the 

 Treasury of Botany : 



" The Cabbage, in its wild state, is a native 

 of various parts of Europe, as well as of several 

 places near the sea in England. It is a bien- 

 nial, with fleshy-lobed leaves, undulated at 

 the margin, and covered with bloom ; al- 

 together, so different in form and appearance 

 from the Cabbage of our garden that few 

 would believe it could possibly have been the 

 parent of so varied a progeny as are com- 

 prised in the Savoy, Brussels Sprouts, Cauli- 

 flower, Broccoli, and their varieties. A more 

 wonderful instance of a species producing so 

 many distinct forms of vegetation for the use 

 of man is scarcely to be met with throughout 



the range of the vegetable kingdom. The 

 common, or cultivated Cabbage, B. oleracea 

 capitaia, is well known, and from a very early 

 period has been a favorite culinary vegetable, 

 in almost daily use throughout the civilized 

 world. The ancients considered it light of 

 digestion when properly dressed, and very 

 wholesome if moderately eaten. For the in- 

 ti-oduction of our garden variety of Cabbage 

 we are indebted to the Romans, who are also 

 believed to have disseminated it in other 

 countries. It is said to have been scarcely 

 known in Scotland until the time of the Com- 

 monwealth, when it was carried there from 

 England by some of Cromwell's soldiers ; but 

 it now holds a prominent place in every gar- 

 den throughout the United Kingdom." From 

 its wild state the Cabbage has been brought to 

 its present state of perfection very gradually, 



