An Encyclopedia of Horticulture. 



197 



BltunenbacMa — continued. 



.lulv. I., lower ones five to seven-lobed ; upper ones deeply 



bipiiiiiatiti.l. h. lit. Cliili, 1826. llardy annual trailer. 



SVN. y."(/-v(( jHilmata. (B. M. 2865.) 



BOBARTIA {named after Jacob Bobart, Professor of 

 Botany at Oxford in the seventeenth century). Ord. 

 Iridece. A small jrt^nus of greenhouse or hardy bulbous 

 plants, closely allied to Sisyrinchium. The species in 

 cultivation are very pretty hardy plants, but require 

 protection from severe frosts and excessive rains. They 

 thrive best in a warm, li^ht soil, and make pretty plants 

 for rockwork. Propagated by separating the offsets 

 during autumn. This genus bus been much misunder- 

 stood. Among the plants which have been referred to it 

 are some which now find places in the genera Aristeay 

 Sisyrinchium, Homeria^ Marica, Morcca, &c., &c. 



B. aiirantiaca. See Homeria aurantiaca. 



B. gladiata (sword-shaped). Jl. yellow, thinly sprinkled with 

 purple dots near the ceiitie, handsome, nearly 2in. across. 

 I. linear, ensifonn, narrow, slightly glaucons, 1ft, or more in 

 len-th. 1817. Syn. Marica ■jUiiiiata. (B. K. 229.) 



B. spathacea (nish-like). I. rush-like, several feet in lenjjth ; 

 tlower-steni as lona; as leaves, bearinjx near extremity a cluster of 

 p;de yellow tlowers, with narrow .segments. Kach Hnwer lasts hut 

 one tiay ; as a j;ood many, however, are developed in each spathe, 

 there is a succes.sion which lasts some time. 1832. SYN. Xyris 

 altiasima. (L. B. C. 1900.) 



Fig. 259. Boccoma cordata, showing Habit and Flower. 



BOCCONIA (named after Paolo Bocconi, M.D., a 

 Sicilian botanist, author of the "Museum des Plantes," 

 and ** Histoire Naturelle de I'lle de Corse," &c.). Ord. 

 Papaveraceie. Two of the species are greenhouse or half- 

 hardy shrubs. Flowers inconspicuous, in terminal panicles, 

 with the branches and branchlets each furnished with one 

 bract. Leaves stalked, glaucous, large, lobed. This genus 

 docs not well agree with the rest of Papaveracece, from its 

 having one-seeded cajisules and apetalous flowers. B. cot- 

 data is a handsome, hardy, herbaceous plant, with a stately 

 habit and finely-cut foliage, and, where bold subjects are 

 desired, few will be found superior to it. As an isolated 



Bocconia — continued. 

 specimen on the lawn, or by frequented walks, where it 

 wiU not be too closely surrounded by tall plants, it may be 

 grown with marked effect. It also forms a good subject 

 for pot culture, and is largely used for sub-tropical bedding. 

 The soil most suitable for its culture is a good fat loam, of 

 considerable depth. Propagated by cuttings, taken from 

 the axils of the larger leaves, during early summer; or 

 by young siickers, taken from established plants, during 

 summer, as they will then flower the following season. If 

 the former method is employed, the cuttings should be 

 pushed on, so that there are plenty of roots before the 

 winter sets in. The other two species require greenhouse 

 culture ; but both are eminently suited for sub-tropical 

 gardening, in any light rich soil, or well-drained and airy 

 situation. They are best propagated by seeds, sown in a 

 hotbed in spring, the seedlings being placed out from June 

 to September. 



B. cordata (cordate).* /. buff-coloured, very numerous, borne in 



very large terminal panicles ; intlividually they are not showy, but 

 the fully grown inflorescence has a very distinct and pleasing 

 appearance. Summer. I. large, reflexed, deeply-veined, roundish- 

 cordate ; margins lobed or sinuated. Stems growing rather close 

 to^'ether, thickly set with leaves, h. 5ft. to 8ft. China, 1795, and 

 1866. Mr. Robinson recommends its being grown in the angle of 

 two walls which shelter it from the north and east. It runs 

 quickly at the roots, and the suckers may be cut off to the benefit 

 of the parent plant ; each sucker \vill form a strong plant in a 

 vear's time. Syns. B. japonica and Macleaya yedoensis. See 

 Fig. 259. (B. M. 1905.) 

 B. fmtescens (shrubby).* fi. greenish. October. I. large, sea- 

 green, oval-oblong, cuneated at the base, pinnatifld. h. 3ft. to 6ft. 

 Mexico, 1739. (L. B. C. 85.) 

 B. IntegrifoUa (entire-leaved). Jl. greenish ; panicle crowded. 

 I. flat, oblong, tapering towards each end, entire, or scarcely 

 crenated. h. 9ffc. Peru, 1822. 

 B. japonica (Japanese). Synonymous with B. cordata. 



B<EB£RA (named after Bceber, a Russian botMiist). 

 Ord. Compositw. A genus of evergreen greenhouse shrubs, 

 now generally referred to Dysodia. Tney are of easy cul- 

 ture, thriving in ordinary garden soil. Propagated by cut- 

 tings, made of young, rather firm, shoots, and placed in 

 sand, under a glass. There are several other species besides 

 the one given below, but they are not of much horticul- 

 tural value. 



B. incana (hoary).* fi.-heads golden ; peduncles one-headed. No- 

 vember. I. pinnate, rather hairy ; leaflets linear acute, channelled, 

 some entire, and some tritid. Stem hairy. A. IJft. Mexico, 

 1828. (B. R. 1602.) 



BCEHMBRIA (named after George Kudolph Boehmer, 

 a German botanist). Ord. Urticacece. A genus of shrubs 

 or herbaceous plants, allied to Urticay from which it is 

 distinguished in not having stinging hairs. B. nivea is 

 the only species having any horticnltnral value. This 

 thrives best in a warm, sandy soil; and is increased by 

 divisions. 



B. nlvea (snowy), jl. greenish, disposed in spites. L broadly 

 cordate, about 6in. long by 4in. broad, temimating in a long 

 slender point ; edges serrate, covered on the under side with a 

 dense coating of white down. h. 3ft. to 4ft. China. A shrub- 

 like perennial, rather more curious than beautiful. 



BOG BEAN. See Menyanthes trifoUata. 



BOG-EAKTH. See Peat. 



BOIIiBBiS. ITiese are very important articles in all 

 gardens where there are glass houses, and the best should 

 always be selected. They are made in cast and wrought 

 iron, both of which have their special advantages and dis- 

 advantages. The former are less liable to bum through 

 when encrusted with any deposit from the water, but will 

 crack with sudden changes of temperature, by reason of 

 the granular form of the metal not allowing gradual con- 

 traction ; the latter may burn through where there is 

 any deposit of mud or other matter, but they will not 

 crack, and \vill stand a greater pressure than those made 

 of cast metal. It is, however, the better plan to use 

 lioilers of wrought iron, as, with careful usage, they 

 are less liable to break down in hard frosts than are 

 the others. As the value of the plants, as well as that 



