222 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Bulbiue — continued. 

 B. alooides (Alue-likc).* fl. yi-llow, disposed in a terminal panicle. 



April. I. Hu.shy, tonj^iu'-shiipfd, lanc(?ulate, flat on hoth sides. 



/i. lit. Cape of Goud Hope, 1732. SVN. Anthericum aiooidvs. 



(II. M. 1317.) 

 B. r^nnna (annual), il. yellow ; scape racemose. May, June. I. 



rteshy, sulmliLte, roundt-d. h. 9in. Capu (if (_inod Hope, 1731. 



An annual spt-tifs, tlu- Muds of which should Vic sown in a jjentle 



iieat during; siuinj;, and the seedlings may he transplanted to tlie 



open when large enough to handle. iSVN. Anthcricuui annuuin. 



(B. M. ia51.) 

 B. caillescens (caulescent).* /. yellow. March. I. fle.shy, rounded. 



Stem shrubby, erect, branched, h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope. 1702. 



A shrubby species, which should bo propagated by cutting.s, placed 



under a hand glass. Syn. B. frutencena. (B. M. 816.) 

 B. frutcscens (shrubby). Synonymous with B. caulesccns. 



BULBOCOBIUM (from hulbos, a bulb, and hodion, 

 wool; referring- to the woolly covering of the bulbs). Okd. 

 Liliacecp. Tribe Colchicea^. A very pretty little bulbous 

 plant, much resembling the Croc us, from which it differs prin- 

 cipally in having a superior ovary and six stamens. It is 

 amongst the earliest of spring-flowering plants, the flowers 

 preceding the foliage ; and, like the majority of bulbs, 

 delights in rich sandy loam. In such positions, they multiply 

 rapidly from offsets. It is a good plan to take up the bulbs, 

 divide, and replant them every second year, selecting in 

 autumn, and renewing the soil or planting in new positions. 

 Few plants prove more welcome in the garden, in February, 

 than B. vernitm, either in beds, patches, or masses. 

 B. Aitchisoni (Aitcliison's). A synonym of Merendera Aitchisoni. 

 B. Eichleri (Eichler's). A synonym of Merendera caucaska. 

 B. trigynum. A synonym of Merendera cauca6"ica. 



Fig. 301. Bulbocouium vernum. 



B. vernum (spring).* fl. violet-purple, with a white spot on the 

 claw ; long, tuimlar, fuimel-shaped, two to three from each bulb ; 

 preceding the ajipearance of the leaves. Very early spring. 

 L usually three in nuudier, broadly strap-shaped, concave, and 

 surrounded at the base by well-developed sheaths. Bulb black, 

 oblong, h. 4in. to 6in. Spain, 1649. See Fig. 301. There is a 

 is a variety with the leaves striped white, which is also desirable. 



BUIiBOFHYI.I.UM (from /xt^^jo^^abulb, and phyllon, 

 a leaf ; referring to the leaves issuing from the apex of the 

 pseudo-bulbs). Stns. Anisopetaluyn, Bolhophyllum, Tri- 

 brachium. Okd. Orchideae. Of this rather large genus of 

 orchids but few are worth cultivating except as curiosities. 

 Racemes long or spike-like, very rarely one-flowered <.ir 

 sub-umbellate ; isoiials usually nearly equal and free ; lip 

 jointed to the foot of the column. They are of easy cul- 

 ture when grown on small blocks of wood with a little 



Bulbophylliun — continued, 

 moss, and suspended in a warm part of the house; the roots 

 require a good supply of water. Propagated by dividing 

 the pseudo-bulbs. 



The following comparative few of the aggregate number 

 of species already introduced are really all that are worth 

 the cultivator's attention ; what the botanist often regards 

 as being very pretty, &c., does not always appear such in 

 the eyes of tiie grower. 



B. barblgerum (bearded).* fl., sepals and petals greenish-brown ; 

 lil> covered with dark-coloured hair, and so loosely attached at 

 tlie base as to lie nioveii with the slightest breath. Siernv I^eone, 

 1835. A curious dwarf-growing plant, with dark green leaves and 

 pseudo-bulbs. (B. K. 1942.) 



B. Beccarii (Beccari's). Jt. light brownish and painted with 

 violet; liji brown, with a violet hue, proceeding from a rhizouie 

 at the base of the leaf (just below the small pseudo-bulb), and at 

 once turning downwards ; racemes dense, cylindrical, nodding. 

 I. three, 25in. long, 18in. across, very thick. Rhizome 20in. long. 

 Brazil, 1879. A remarkable and gigantic climbing species; the 

 odour of this plant is intolerably fo-tid, and the leaves are larger 

 than those of anv other known orchid. This species requires 

 plenty of lieat. (B. M. 6517.) 



B. Lobbl (Lobb*s).* fl. large ; sepals and petals yellow, the upper 

 part spotted with purple ; solitary, on radical scapes. Summer. 

 Java, 1845. (B. M. 4532.) 



B. maculatum (spotted). .^, prettily spotted, I. long, obtuse, 

 bright green. Inilia. 



B. reticulatum (netted-leaved).* fi. in pairs, white, striped 

 inside witli purple ; lip spotted \vith the same colour. L some- 

 what heart-shuped, with tJie nerves of a deeper green than the 

 rest of the leaf, giving it a beautifidly reticulated appearance. 

 Brazil, 1866. Perhaps the handsomest of the genus. (B. M. 5605.) 



B. saltatoruxn (dancing), fi. greenish-brown, lasting some time 

 in perfection. Winter. Vt. 6in. Sierra Leone, 1835. (B. R. 1970.) 



B. siamense (Siamese).* fi. pale yellow, striped >vith purple ; lip 

 yeUow, streaked with purplish lines. A very pretty species, 

 closely allied to B. Lohbi, but with longer and stouter leaves. 

 Pseudo-bulbs ovate. Siam, 1867. Should be grown in a pot of 

 peat and sphagnum. 



BULBOSTYIiES (from holhos, a bulb, and shjlos, the 

 style). Ord. Cornposihe. A small genus of stove ever- 

 green plants, now referred to Eupatorium. 



SIT^BS. A Bulb is formed upon or beneath the 

 ground, and is a swollen stock, consisting, in the flrst place, 

 of a more or less fleshy disk, which below gives rise to the 

 roots ; secondly, of more or less fleshy coats, or scales, 

 borne on the disk ; thirdly, of a more or less central shoot, 

 equally borne by the disk, protected by the coats or scales 

 already mentioned, and formed of rudimentary leaves and 

 flowers. In some instances, small Bulbs, called Cloves, are 

 formed at the base of the scales of the original Bulb ; these 

 are destined to reproduce the plant. Shallot and Garlic are 

 good examples. Bulbs are, in fact, storehouses, husbanding 

 the strength and energy acquired by the plant during one 

 season, for the exigencies of the next. They are classified 

 under two sections — Scaly and Tunicated. In the former, 

 the scales of the Bulb are imbricated, as in the Lily ; in 

 the latter, they form continuous coatings, one within the 

 other, as in the Hyacinth, &c. In several Lilies, young 

 Bulbs are found growing in the axils of the leaves, when 

 they are known as Bulbils. Bulbs is also a popular term 

 given to Dutch Flower Roots, mostly arriving here in the 

 autumn for spring flowering. Crocus, Colchicum, Cyclamen, 

 Gladiolus, and several others, are not Bulbs, but Corms. 

 The flowering season varies according to the different sorts 

 of Bulbs. The majority may be lifted and kept tolerably 

 dry during the resting period ; but they wither and become 

 exhausted if not replanted at the proper time, thereby 

 causing many failures. Dutch Bulbs generally arrive in 

 September, and the best results are obtained from those 

 potted or planted at once, although some for succession 

 may be kept in reserve up till the beginning of November. 

 The failure in cultivating imported Liliums and other 

 Bulbs nuiy bo often caused by their long-continued con- 

 flneniont in a dry atmosphere, whereby their vitality 

 is often almost lost. The roots of some Bulbs are nearly 

 always, more or less, in action, and these, especially, should 

 not be kept out of the ground for any length of time. 



