338 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Ruyschia — eontinuerl. 



R. clusisefoUa (Clusia-leuvod). //. purple ; bracts scarlet, dotted 

 with red. oliovate. acute, thick, deflexed, concavo-convex ; racemes 

 terminal, many-fluwert d, about 1ft. bpnfj ; peduncles short. June. 

 i. alternate, oliovate, thick, shining, about 4in. long. k. 4ft. 

 Guiana and the ('arihbee Isl.ands, 1823. 



BTANIA (named after John Eyan, M.D., F.E.S., a 



correspondent of Vahl). Stn. Pnfrisia. Ord. Bixinew. 

 A genus comprii^ing about half-a-dozen species of stove, 

 stellately-pubescent trees, natives of tropical America. 

 Flowers axillary, often showy, solitary or sub-fasciculate ; 

 sepals five, lanceolate or oblong, imbricated, persistent ; 

 petals absent ; .stamens indefinite Leaves entire, penni- 

 nerved and transversely venulose, not dotted. It. speciosii, 

 the only species introduced is a beautiful shrub. It 

 thrives in a compost of peat and loam, and may be in- 

 creased by ripened cuttings, inserted in sand, under a 

 glass, in heat. 



R. speciosa (.showy). //. .somewhat cream-coloured, large ; 

 peduncles one-flowerod. August. /. green on both surfaces, 

 bearing stellate hairs on the ribs beneath, h. 10ft. West Indies, 

 1823. 



KYMANDBA. A synonym of Kiiig'htia (which 



BYSSOPTEBTS (from njssos, wrinkled, and pteri, 

 a wing ; alluding to the form of the wing of the fruit). 

 Ord. Mnlpiqliiacece. A genus comprising about half-a- 

 dozen species of slender, twining, stove or greenhouse 

 shrubs, natives of the Indian Archipelago and Australia. 

 Flowers whitish ; calyx five-parted : petals scarcely clawed ; 

 stamens ten, all perfect ; inflorescence terminal or falsely 

 axillary, corymbiform ; pedicels thickened above. Samaras 

 one to three, expanded into broad wings at the apex, 

 which are laterally tubercled. Leaves opposite, or nearly 

 so, entire, the margins gland- bearing beneath ; petioles 

 slender, biglandular at the apex ; stipules rather large. 

 P. microsfeina. the only species yet introduced, requires 

 stove heat ; it should be grown in a compost of fibry 

 peat and sandy loam. Propagation may be effected by 

 cuttings, inserted in sand, under a bell glass, in bottom 

 heat. 



R. microstema (suiall-authered). /?., petals three or four times 

 lonyei tliaii tin- calyx; anthers miiuite; inflorescence equalling, 

 ur slii;htly exceeding, the leaves. August. I. broadly ovate, 3in. 

 to_ 5in. long, 2iin. to 31n. broad, somewhat cordate, "mucronate, 

 slightly sinuated on the margins, greyish-pubescent beneath. 

 Java, 1820. 



BYTIDOLOMA. A synonym of Dicfyanthus. 



BYTIGINIA. A synonym of Van^eria (which 



see). 



SABADILLA. 



(which ftee). 



SABAIi (said to be a native name in South America ; 

 but Adanson, who originated the genus, gives no expla- 

 nation). Some of the species were formerly included 

 under Vhaincerops and ConjpJM. Ord. Palmie. A 

 genus embracing six species of dwarf, tall, or nearly 

 stemless, stove, greenhouse, or half-hardy, unarmed 

 palms, inhabiting tropical and sub-tropical America. 

 Flowers white or greenish, small, glabrous : spathes 

 tubular ; spadices large, elongated, decompound, at first 

 erect, with slender, deeurved or pendulous branches and 

 branchlets ; bracts and bracteoles minute. Fruit black, 

 small or mediocre. Leaves terminal, orbicular or cuneate 

 at base, fiabellately multifid; segments linear, bifid, in- 

 duplicate in vernation ; rachis short or elongated : petioles 

 concave above, the margins acute and unarmed. The 

 species, most of which are highly ornamental, succeed 

 in a light loamy soil. A few suckers are sometimes 

 emitted : these should be taken off when about 1ft. long, 

 and, if they have no roots, must at first be carefully 

 nursed. Seeds, however, are by far the best means of 

 propagation. 



A synonym of Schcenocaulon 



Sabal — continued. 



S. Adansonll(Adanson's)." Dwarf Palmetto. /!., petals united at 

 the base ; style thick ; spadix erect, 3ft. to 6ft. high, smooth, 

 slender. June and July. //•. black. ',in. in diameter, l. circular 

 in outline, glaucous, fan-shaped, slightly pinnatifid, 2ft. to 3ft. 

 high ; divisions twenty to thirty, slightly cleft at apex, sparingly 

 filanientous at the sinuses ; petioles stout, concave, smooth- 

 edged, shorter than the leaves, Tr.ink shrirt, buried in the earth. 

 Southern United .States, 1810. Greenhouse or half -hardy. 

 (B. .M. 1434.) 



S. Blackbumiana (lilackburn's).* Fan or Thatch Palm, fi., 

 spadix rising from the sinus of the leaf, spreading, 4ft. to 5ft. 

 long, glabrous, alternately branched ; peduncle simple and com- 

 pressed below. I. twenty to thirty, forming a suh-globose tuft, 

 cordate-suborbicnlar, 5ft. to 6ft. long; segments of adult leaves 

 about eighty, ensiforni, long-acuminate, more or less deeply bifid 

 at apex, the lower ones connate about two-thirds, the upper ones 

 one-third, their length ; petioles arcuate-spreading, 6ft. to 8ft. 

 long, very convex at back, the margins acute and unarmed. 

 Trunk cylindrical, nearly 1ft. in diameter, slow-growing, at length 

 20ft. to 25ft. high. Bermudas, 1825. This is admirably suited 

 for a winilow plant when small, and for the sub-tropical garden 

 in summer. Sv.\. S. miibrncuUfem (of Martius). 



S. ccerulescens (bluish). /. (known only in the young st^te) 

 elongated, linear-lunceolati', with a plicate surface "and a bluish 

 01' glauL-otis tinge "f green, which is most strongly marked on the 

 under surface. West Indies (;), 1875. Greenhouse. 



S. mauritiseformls (.Mauritia-like). Savaua Palm, fi., spadix 

 exceeding the leaves, the branches paniculate. /;•. black, about 

 the size of a pea. I. 12ft. in diameter, sub-orbicular, glaucous 

 beneath, nmltitid to the middle, with loose fibres between the 

 bifid lobes ; petioles 7ft. to 8ft. long. Trunk 1ft. to IJft. thick, 

 little annulate, but reaching a height of 60ft. to 80ft. Venezuela, 

 Trinidad, 1860. Stove. Sv.\. Trithrina.r nrturitiiejttrmin. 



S. Palmetto (Palmetto).* Cabbage Palmetto; Palmetto Palm. 

 //.. jietals sli;ihtly united at the liase ; style thick ; spadix smooth 

 and spreading, couinionly shorter than the leaves. June. .fr. 

 black, four to five lines iti diameter. I. 5ft. to 8ft. long, cordate 

 in outline, flabellately-pinnatifid, recurved at the summit, the 

 base long-persistent ; divisions very numerotis, deeply cleft, and 

 with thread-like filaments at the sinuses ; petioles smooth con- 

 cave, mostly longer than the leaves. Trunk erect, 20ft. to 

 40ft. high, simple, leafy at the summit. Southern United 

 States, 1!:25. Greenhouse. Sv.n. Chamcerops Palmetto. 



S. serrulata (serrulated). A synonym of Serenoa serrulata. 



S. umbraculifera (umbrella-bearing).* /. whitish ; petals 

 equalling the stamens ; spadix 4ft. to 5ft. long, with paniculate 

 liranches. fr. greenish-black, four to five lines in diameter. 

 /. 4in. to 6iu. in diamater, sub-orbicular, glaucescent, multifid 

 to one-third to two-thirds, with loose fibres between the bifid 

 lobes ; petio'es 6ft. to 8ft. long. Trunk at length bOft. to 80ft. 

 high. West Indies, 1825. Greenhouse. 



S. umbraculifera (umbrella-bearing), of Martius. A synonym 



of .S. Elacldnirniana. 



SABBATIA (dedicated to L. Sabbati, an Italian 

 botanist, who published a " Synopsis Plantarum," in 1745). 

 American Centaury. Ord. Gentianew. A genus com- 

 prising thirteen species of hardy, annual or biennial, 

 erect herbs, simple or paniculate above ; they are natives 

 of North America and Cuba. Flowers white or rose- 

 purple, handsome ; calyx five to ten-parted or cleft ; corolla 

 with a very short tube, rotate, with five to twelve ovate 

 or narrow, twisted lobes ; stamens five to twelve ; anthers 

 soon recurved or revolute. Leaves opposite, sessile or 

 stem- clasping, Sabbatias are very elegant plants when 

 in blossom : those described below are well worth culti- 

 vating in every collection. Seeds, as soon as ripe, should 

 be sown thinly in pots, or on a shady border, in peaty 

 soil ; it the former plan is adopted, the pots should be 

 placed in shallow pans of water, as the plants grow 

 naturally in bogs and marshy places. All the species 

 here given are North American, and flower in summer. 



S. angularis (angular). Rose Pink. Jl. on short peduncles ; 

 corolla rose-pink, rarely white, lAin. wide, with a yellowish or 

 greenish eye ; calyx lobes iin. to'Jin. long. I. ovate, somewhat 

 acute, with a slightly cordate, clasping base. Stem erect, 1ft. 

 to 2ft. high, pyramidally many-flowered. 1826. 



S. calycosa (large-calyxed).* /f., calyx lobes leafy, §in. to lin. 

 long, exceeding the almost white corolla; peduncles elongated, 

 one-fi<'wered. /. oblong or lanceolate-oblong, narrowed at base. 

 Stem 5iu. to 20iu. high, liifi^usely forking. 1812. (B. M. 1600.) 



S. campestrls (tield-lovingj,* Ji., corolla rose-colour, five-parted, 

 equalled by the lanceolate calyx segments. (, ovate, the lower 

 ones obtuse. Stem tetragonal, dichotomously branched; branch- 

 lets one-flowered, h. 1ft. 1855. (B. .M. 5015 ; R. G. iii. 73.) 



S. chloroides (Chlora-like). ,/f., calyx lobes linear ; corolla deep 

 rose-coloured, rarely white, nine to twelve-parted, twice as long 



