B^EOBOTRYS 



94 



BALSAM 



B. gra'cilis (slender). 2. N. Holland. 1826. 

 ., linifo'lia (flax-leaved). 3. August. N. Holland. 1818. 

 ,, pa'rvula (Gfl., t. 886, f. 2). See B. VIRGATA. 

 ,, ramosi'ssima (branchiest). 3. N. Holland. 1824. 

 saxi'cola (rock-dwelling). 2. July. N. Holland. 



1824. 

 , virga'ta (twiggy). 3. September. New Caledonia. 



1806. 



BffiOBO'TRYS I'NDICA (B. M., t. 2052). See M^SA 



INDICA. 



B. pube'scens. See M^SSA PUBESCENS. 



BJEOMETRA. (From baios, small, and metron, a 

 measure, or height ; literally, of small stature. Nat. ord. 

 Liliaceaa.) 



Half-hardy or greenhouse bulb. Offsets. Loam, peat, 

 and sand. 



B. columella'ris (small-column). J. White, yellow. June. 

 S. Africa. 1787. 



B^E'RIA. (Named after Professor Beer, of the Uni- 

 versity of Dorpat. Nat. ord. Composites [Composite]. 

 Linn. ig-Syngenesia, 2-Superftua.) 



Hardy annuals. Seeds, in March and April ; common 

 soil. 

 B. chryso'stoma (golden-mouthed), i. Yellow. May. 



California. 1835. 



gra'cilis (B. M., t. 3758). Yellow. California. Syn. 

 Burrielia gracilis. 



BAHTA. (Apparently from Port of Bahia or San 

 Salvador, S. Amer. Nat. ord. Compositae.) 



Useful hardy herbaceous perennials of branching habit 

 and silvery grey appearance, propagated from seed or 

 divisions. 



B. confertifto'ra (Gfl., 1888, 329, t. 1275, f. i). Yellow 

 radiate flower heads. California.) See ERIOPHYL- 

 LUM CONFERTIFLORUM. 



lana'ta (B. R., t. 1167). Yellow. May. N. Amer. 



See ERIOPHYLLUM CJESPITOSUM. 

 ,, oppositifo'lia. i. Yellow. N. W. Amer. Syn. 



ERIOPHYLLUM OPPOSITIFOLIUM. 



BAIKI2E A. (Probably commemorative. Nat. ord. 

 Leguminosa?.) 



Evergreen stove tree. Cuttings in sand in a close case, 

 with bottom-heat. Loam, peat, and sand. 

 B. insi'gnis (remarkable). 30-40. Lemon-yellow, snow- 

 white, 10 in. across. W. Trop. Africa. 1909. 



BAKED is a term descriptive of the hard, impervious 

 state of clayey soils, long exposed to drought. It can 

 be prevented only by altering the staple of the soil, by 

 the admixture of sand, chalk, coal-ashes, and other 

 matters less cohesive than clay. 



BAKE'RIA OF ANDRE'. (Named after Mr. J. G. 

 Baker, F.R.S., of Kew. Nat. ord. Bromeliaceae.) 



Treatment as for Tillandsias, which require stove 

 temperature. 



B. tillandsioi' des (R. H., 1889, t. 84). Rosy-purple. 

 Brazil. 



BAKE'RIA OF SEEMANN. (Nat. ord. Araliaceaa.) 

 A synonym of Plerandra. This is quite a different plant 

 to the above, being a small tree with digitate leaves, 

 raised from seeds. 

 B. vitie'nsis (Gfl., 1887, 71). Fiji. See PLERANDRA 



VITIENSIS. 



BALA'KA. (The native name. Nat. ord. Pal- 

 maceae.) 



Stove palms. Seeds. Fibrous loam, peat, and sand. 

 B. perbre'vis (very short). Fiji. 

 Seema'nni (Seeman's). Fiji. 



BALANI'NUS NU'CUM. The Nutweevil. See CO'RY- 



LUS. 



BALA'NTIUM. (From balantion, a purse ; referring 

 to the shape of the seed-pouch, or indusium, on the back 

 of the leaf. Nat. ord. Ferns [Filices]. Linn. z^-Crypto- 

 gamia, i-Filices.) 



StoveTierbaceous Ferns. Divisions ; peat and loam. 

 Summer temp., 60 to 70 ; winter, 50 to 60. Now 

 referred to Dicksonia. 

 B. Cu'lcita (cushion). 3. Brown. August. Madeira. 



BALBI'SIA. (Named after Giovanni Battista Balbis, 

 a Turin Professor of Botany. Nat. ord. Geraniaceas.) 



A pretty, half-hardy, evergreen shrub, may be grown 

 in the open in summer and in the greenhouse in winter ; 

 seeds or cuttings ; light loamy soil. 



B. verticilla' ta (B. M., t. 6170). 3 to 6. Yellow. Chili. 

 1846. Syn. LEDOCARPON VERTICILLATUM. 



BALCONY. A word probably derived from the 

 Persian, signifying an ornamentally-barred window, and 

 by us applied to a frame, usually of iron, and encom- 

 passed with a balustrade, placed in front of one window, 

 or of several windows. It is an excellent place for giving 

 air to room-plants, and for the cultivation of some 

 flowers. 



BALDINGE'RA. A synonym of Premna. 

 BALLO'TA. (The Greek name. Nat. ord. Labiatae.) 



B. cine'rea. See ROYLEA ELEGANS. 

 ,, P sen' do-dicta' mnus (false-Dictamnus). Crete. " False 



Dittany of Crete." 

 ,, suave' olens (W. G., 1889, 81). See HYPTIS SUAVEO- 



LENS. 



BALM. (Meli'ssa offlcina'lis). This hardy herbaceous 

 plant has a citron scent and aromatic flavour. It is 

 cultivated now only for making a grateful drink for the 

 sick. 



The Soil best suited to its growth is any poor and 

 friable, but rather inclining to clayey than sandy. 

 Manure is never required. An eastern aspect is best 

 for it. 



Planting. It is propagated by root division (of which 

 the smallest piece will grow), and by slips of the young 

 shoots. The first mode any time during the spring and 

 autumn, but by slips only during May or June. If 

 divisions of an old plant are employed, they may be 

 planted at once where they are to remain, at twelve 

 inches apart ; but if by slips, they must be inserted in a 

 shady border, to be thence removed, in September or 

 October, to where they are to remain. At every removal 

 water must be given, if dry weather, and until they are 

 established. During the summer they require only to 

 be kept clear of weeds. In October the old beds (which 

 may stand for many years) require to be dressed, their 

 decayed leaves and stalks cleared away, and the soil 

 loosened by the hoe or slight digging. 



Old beds may be gathered from in July for drying, but 

 their green leaves, from March to September ; and those 

 planted in spring will even afford a gathering in the 

 autumn of the same year. For drying, the stalks are 

 cut, with their full clothing of leaves, to the very bottom, 

 and the drying completed gradually in the shade. 



BALM OF GELEAD. Dracoce'phalum canarie'nse and 

 Cedrone'lla triphy'lla. 



BALSAM AND BALSAMI'NA. See IMPA'TIENS. 

 BALSAM APPLE. Momo'rdica Balsami'na. 



BALSAMTTA. (From balsamon, greasy, referring to 

 the viscid glands on the plant. Nat. ord. Composite.) 



Hardy, herbaceous plant that may be grown in any 

 good garden soil. Propagation by division of the plant 

 in spring. 



B. vulga'ris (common). See CHRYSANTHEMUM BALSA- 



MITA. 



BALSAMODE'NDRON. (From balsamon, balm, or 

 balsam, and dendron, a tree. Nat. ord. Burserads 

 [Burseracea?]. Linn. 8-Octandria, i-Moiwgynia.) 



According to Capt. Harris, Myrrh is obtained, on the 

 Abyssinian coast, from a species of this genus ; and the 

 Balesson of Bruce, or Balm of Mecca, is the produce of 

 another species of this Balsam-tree. It is a stove tree. 

 Sandy loam, and a little rotten dung ; cuttings of ripe 

 young wood in April, under a glass, and in heat. Summer 

 temp., 60 to 80 ; winter, 55 to 60. 



B. madagascarie'nse. White. August. Madagascar. 

 ,, My'rrha. " Myrrh." Arabia. 

 ,, zeyla'nicum (Ceylon). See CANARIUM ZEYLANICUM, 



BALSAM OF COPAIBA. 



