181. 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



BerthoUetia — continued. 

 Tribe LecytMdecB of Ord. Myrtacew. B. excelsa is a tall 

 tree, having* the young" branches leafy at the apex. Leaves 

 alternate, oblong-, quite entire, rather coriaceous. From 

 this Brasiilian sx^^cies are obtained the well-known Brazil 

 or Para Nuts of commerce. The tree is of no value for 

 decorative purposes. 



BERTOJLONIA fnamed after A. Bertoloni, an Italian 

 botanist, author of " Eariorum ItaliiB Plantaruni Decades," 

 &c.). Ord. MelasUymarece. Elej^ant little creeping or 

 dwarf-growing stove plants, chiefly cultivated for their 

 exquisitely marked leaves. Flowers white or purple. 

 Leaves stalked, ovate-cordate, five to eleven-nerved, 

 crenulated ; cymes corymbose, terminal. They thrive in a 

 compost of equal parts peat, leaf mould, and sand, in a 

 warm, close, and moist atmosphere, but are most suc- 

 cessfully cultivated under a bell glass in the stove ; in 

 fact, the latter is the only plan of growing them where a 

 constantly humid atmot^phere cannot be otherwise obtained 

 without such means. They are easily propagated by 

 cuttings or seeds. 



B. £enea (coppery). Jl. purple, k. 6in. Brazil. 

 B. guttata (spotted). See Gravesia. 



B. maculata (spotted).* Jl. violet-purple ; peduncles axillary, 

 bearin-;' at the apex a short raceme of six to seven flowers. I. on 

 long petioles, cordate, ovate, quite entire, pilose on both surfaces 

 and on the margins, five-nerved. Branches, petioles, peduncles, 

 and calyces hispid from long bristles. Stem rooting at the base. 

 Brazil, 1850. (B. M. 4551.) 



B. marmorata (marbled) * I. 5in. to Sin. long, ovate-oblong, 

 hairy, five-nerved; upper side vivid bright gieen, beautifully 

 maikc'd with irregular streaks of pure wliite ; under surface of 

 a uniform rich purple. Stem fleshy, h. 6in. Brazil, 1858. 



B. pubescens (downy).* I. ovate-acuminate, 3in. to 4in. long, and 

 2in. to 3in. broad ; bright light gi-een, with a broad chocohite- 

 coloured band down the centre ; upper surface clothed with long 

 white hairs. Ecuador. 



BBR>ZBIiIA (named in honour of Berzelius, a cele- 

 brated Swedish chemist). Ord. Bruniacece. Very pretty 

 little greeidiouse evergreen shrubs. Heads of flowers 

 naked, with three bracts at the base of each ; usually 

 crowded at the tops of the branches. Leaves short, some- 

 what trigonal, imbricate or spreading. They require a 

 mixture of peat, loam, and sand, with thorough drainage 

 and" moderately firm potting. Young cuttings root freely 

 in sand, under a bell glass, in gentle heat. 

 B, abrotanoides (Abrotanum-like). jl.-heads white, the size of 

 a Albert, terminal, crowded, sub-corymbose ; bracts clavate, 

 green, smooth, ustulate at the apex. May to Jidy. I. ovate, 

 iistulate at the apex, smooth, spreading, on short petioles. 

 h. lift. Cape of Good Hope, 1787. (L. B. C. 355.) 

 B. lanuginosa (woolly).* jl.-heads white, about the sij;e of a pea, 

 at tlie tr.ps of lateral Inanches, disposed in a fastigiate panicle ; 

 bracts spathulate, callose at the apex. June to August. L 

 triquetrous, spreading, callose at the apex, rather hairy. Branches 

 erect, villous when young. A. 1ft. to 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 

 1774. (L. B. C. 572.) 



BBSCHOBNEBIA (in honour of H. Beschorner, a 

 German botanist). Ord. Amarijllidacece. Greenhouse 

 evergreen succulents, allied to Littcea and Fourcroya. 

 Perianth deeply six-parted; segments linear spathulate, 

 tubulose-connivent, often spreading at the point; stamens 

 sis, about as long as the perianth. For culture, &c., see 

 Agave and Aloe. 



B. bracteata (bracteate). Jl. at first green, turning yellowish-red 

 when mature ; panicle 2ft. to 3ft. long ; branches many-flowered 

 and corymbose, subtended by large scariose reddish bracts. I. in 

 a dense rosette, 12in. to 18in. long, tlun, glaucous green with 

 scabrous margin, h. 5ft. to 6ft. Mexico. See Fig. 247. (B. M. 

 6641.) 



B. Decosteriana (Deeoster*s). Jt. green, tinged with red, pen- 

 dulous, bracteate ; panicle 2ft. to 3ft. long, inclined, with nume- 

 rous bracts. L numerous, spreading, 18in. to 24in. lon^-, by lin. 

 to l?,in. broad ; edges minutely serrulate, k. 8ft. Mexico, about 

 1880: 



B. Tonelii (Tonel's).* ./f. tubular, 2iin. long, drooping, pedicellate, 

 dark blood-red below and down the centre, the rest very briglit 

 verdigris green ; panicle 2ft. long, slender, inclined ; bracts 

 several to each fascicle of flowers; scape 4ft. high, red-purple, 

 I. few, spreading, 15in. to 20in. long, by 2.Un. broad, acuminate 

 and keeled beneath towards the top, minutely serrulate. Mexico, 

 1872. (B. M. 6091.) 



Bescliorneria— continued. 



Fig. 247. Beschorneru bracteata. 



B. tubiflora (tube-flowered). Jl. gi-eenish-purple, nutant, fascicled, 

 l)racteate ; fascicles remote, secund ; scapes erect, long, simple. 

 May. l. radical, linear, channelled, recurved, spinosely denti- 

 culate, k. 6ft. Mexico, 1845. (li. M. 4642.) 



B. yuccoides (Yuc(;a-like). Jl. bright green, pendent, racemose, 

 with rich rosy-red lu'acts; scapes slender, coral-red, simple. May 

 and June. I. radical, thickish, lanceolate, acute, 1ft. to lift. long. 

 h. 4ft. Mexico. 



BBSIiBRIA (named in honour of Basil Besler, an 



apothecary at Nui'emberg). Stn. Eriphia. Ord. Ges' 

 neracecB. Very pretty stove sub-shrubs, usually erect, 

 branched. Peduncles axillary, few-flowered. Leaves oppo- 

 site, petiolate, thickish ; nerves and veins very prominent 

 beneath. Stems sub-tetragonal. A light rich earth, or a 

 mixture of sand, loam, and peat, and a moist atmosphere, 

 are necessary for successful cultivation. Beslerias may 

 be increased by cuttings, which root readily in heat. 



B. coccinea (scarlet-berried).* /. yellow ; peduncles axillary 

 l)eariiig three to six flowers in an umbel at top; bracts two, at 

 tliedivisiojiof tbe coinuiun peduncle, orbicularly cordate, toothed, 

 scarlet. I. ovate, glabrous, stiff, a little toothed. Guiana, 1819. 

 Climbing shrub. (A. G. 255.) 



B. cristata (crested). /., corolla yellowish, hairy outside ; 

 peduncles axillary, solitary, one-flowered ; bracts cordate, 

 toothed, sessile, scarlet. June. I. ovate, serrated, Guiana, 1739. 

 Climbing shrub. 



B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* /. large, campanulate, spotted 

 \\ ith red ; peduncles axillary, elongated, many-flowered. I. ovate- 

 oblong, acuminated, crenated, densely pilose above, villous be- 

 neath, as well as on the branches. A. 3ft. Brazil. 



B. Imrayi (Imray's). Jl. rather small, yellow, in axillary whorls. 

 I. large, lanceolate, serrate, glabrous. Stems quadrangular. 

 Dominica, 1862. Herbaceous perennial. (B. M. 6341.) 



