AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



195 



Blechnum continued. 



Blecknom continued. 

 base, the margins finely incised. Florida, Ac., 



B. strlatmn (stripedX 

 iatum. 



A synonym of B. serrv- 



FIQ. 256. BLKCHJftm BRAZILIENSE. 



rachis and surfaces naked or slightly pubescent ; texture coriaceous. 

 Temperate South America, 1841. Greenhouse species. 



B. Lanceola (lance-leaved), rhiz. slender, creeping, stoloniferons. 

 tti. slender, erect, 2in. to 4in. long, fronds lanceolate, undivided, 

 4in. to 6in. long, iin. broad, or less, narrowed gradually from the 

 centre towards each end. Tropical America, 1820. Store species. 



B. L. trifoliatnm (three-leaved), fronds furnished with one or 

 two pairs of small oblong-obtuse lateral pinnae at the base of the 

 large terminal one. Stove variety. (H. S. F. 3, 94.) 



B. longifolinm Gong-leaved).* rhiz. slender, creeping, tti. firm, 

 erect, nearly naked, 6in. to 12in. long, frondt 6m. to 9in. long, 

 with a terminal pinna, and three to six lateral ones on each side, 

 which are Jin. to Sin. long, and iin. broad, narrowed gradually 

 towards the point, fori in broad lines close to the midrib ; texture 

 coriaceous. Tropical America, 1820. B. L fraxineum is a variety 

 found in gardens under the name of B. fraxinii/olium, with a 

 habit more close than the type ; pinnae six to eight on a side, 

 sometimes Iin. broad. B. intermedium (Link.) and B. graciU 

 (Kaulf.), often seen in gardens, are slender-growing varieties of 

 this rather variable stove species. 



B. nitidom (shining).* tti. stout, erect, naked, Sin. to 4in. long. 

 fronds oblong-lanceolate, 1ft or more long, 4in. to 6in. broad; 

 pinnae numerous, sub-falcate, linear, Sin. to 4in. long, {in. to iin. 

 broad, narrowed gradually towards the point, dilated and con- 

 nected at the base ; edge undulate-dentate ; texture coriaceous ; 

 both surfaces smooth. Stove species. The variety eontraetum, 

 often seen in gardens, has its pinnae contracted, and the edge 

 much undulated. Brazil. (H. S. F. 3, 55.) 



B, occidentals (western).* eau. stout, erect, scaly at the top. 

 tti. 6in. to 12in. long, erect, scaly below, fronds ovate-acuminate, 

 Sin. to 18in. long, 4m. to Sin. broad, with twelve to twenty-four 

 linear pinnae on each side, which are 2in. to 4in. long, and about 

 Jin. broad, narrowed gradually to a point, truncate or cordate ; 

 texture coriaceous. West Indies, southwards to Chili and South 

 Brazil, 1823. A very handsome stove or greenhouse fern. 



B. o. multifldum (much-cut).* A pretty variety, said to have been 

 introduced from Dominica ; the apices of the pinnae are copiously 

 crested and tasselled, rendering it very desirable. Stove variety. 



B. orientate (oriental).* eau. stout, erect, clothed at the crown 

 with dark brown scales, sti. 4in. to Sin. long, strong, erect, scaly 

 below, frondt 1ft. to 3ft. long, 6in. to 12in. broad, ovate, with 

 very numerous nearly contiguous pinnae on each side, which are 

 4in. to Sin. long, and about Jin. broad, narrowed to a long point 

 Australia, northwards to South China and the Himalayas. 

 Greenhouse. 



B. polypodioides (Polypodium-likeX A synonym of B. unOate- 

 flpk 



B. serrulatum (saw-edged).* eau. elongated, stout, ascending, 

 iri. 6in. to 12in. long, strong, erect, smooth, nearly naked, frondt 

 oblong-acuminate, 1ft to 2ft. long, 6in. to 9in. broad, with twelve 

 to twenty-four pairs of quite distinct articulated linear oblong 

 pinnae on each side, which are about 4in. to Sin. lone. iin. broad, 

 narrowed gradually towards the point, and downwards to a narrow 



B. nnilaterale (one-sided).* eau. elongate.), 

 densely scaly at the crown. t. slender, erect, 

 Iin. to 4in. long, slightly scaly below, fronds 

 lanceolate, 6in. to 12in. long, lirn. to 2in. broad ; 

 pinnae numerous, spreading horizontally, linear, 

 iin. to Iin. long, central ones Jin. to iin. broad, 

 point usually mucronate ; edge entire, or nearly 

 so, the lower part dilated to a broad base, tori 

 in a line close to the midrib. Tropical America. 

 1829. Widely distributed. Stove or greenhouse 

 species. SYS. B. polypoduridu, under which name 

 it is usually found in gardens. 



BLECHUM (a Greek name for an on- 

 known plant, supposed to resemble Marjoram). 

 OED. Acanthaceae. Stove herbaceous 

 nials. For culture, Ac., see Justicia. 

 B. Browne! (Browne's). JL white, in a dense 

 bracteated spike, which is four-cornered ; bracts 

 ovate, downy. Summer. L ovate elliptical, some- 

 what toothed. A. 2ft West Indies, 1780. The 

 other species introduced are : anyiutifolium, blue; 

 brazilienM, blue ; and laxifloru.ni, white. 



BLEFHARIS (from blepharis, the eye- 

 lash; in reference to the fringed bracts of 

 the calyx). OED. Acanthacece. Dwarf shrubs 

 or herbs, often spiny and woody, allied to 

 Acanthus. Flowers in bracteate spikes ; calyx 

 cruciately four-parted, bracteate ; upper seg- 

 ment entire, three-nerved ; lower, two-nerved ; 

 corolla- tube very short; lip five-lobed, three 

 lobes often much larger than the others; stamens four, 

 sub-didynamous. For culture, &.G., see Acanthus. 

 B. boerhaavlffifolla (Boerhaavia-leaved). A. bine. July. I 

 usually four in a whorl, elliptic, toothed, A. 1ft India, 1829. 

 Stove annual. 



B. capenais (Cape Colony).* fl. blue. July. L narrow, lanceolate, 

 spir.ose. A. 1ft Cape of Good Hope, 1816. Greenhouse biennial 



B. furcate (forked-spined). Jl. blue. July. i. lanceolate, entire 

 or spiny ; bracts large, strongly spinose. A. 2ft Cape of Good 

 Hope, 1846. Greenhouse evergreen shrub. 



B. Unearifolia (narrow-leaved). Jl. blue. July. I. long, entire, 

 linear, glabrous or hairy, not spiny. A. 2ft Guinea, 1823. 



Stove jiTiniial 



B. procumbens (trailing).* Jl. blue, July. L linear lanceolate, 

 spiny, h, 1ft Cape of Good Hope, 1825. Greenhouse evergreen 

 trailer. 



BIiTji*'** i i.TA (from blepharie, the eyelash ; in allusion 

 to the ciliated bracts). OBD. Labiate. Ornamental hardy 

 perennials, closely allied to Monarda, but differing from it 

 in the calyx tube Laving thirteen instead of fifteen nerves, 

 and being naked in the throat, while the corollas are much 

 smaller and more dilated. They are of easy culture in 

 ordinary soil. Increased readily by dividing the roots in 

 early spring. 



B. dilate (ciliated). Jl. blue; whorls all distinct; bracu 

 ciliated, reddish at top. July. /. almost sessile, ovate-oblong, 

 narrowed at the base, canesc'ent beneath. A. 1ft to 2ft North 

 America, 1798. 



B. hirsute (hairy). Jl purple or blue ; whorls more numerous 

 than in the preceding ; upper ones approximate. July. I. pe- 

 tiolate, ovate, roundly cordate at the base, hairy on both surfaces. 



A. 1ft to 2ft Virginia, 1798. 

 than in B. eiiiata. 



Habit more branched and loose 



BLESSED THISTLE. See Cnicus benedictus 

 (properly Carbenia benedicta) and Silybum Marianom. 



BLETIA (in honour of Don Louis Blet, a Spanish 

 botanist). OBD. Orchidea. A large genus of, for the 

 most part, stove terrestrial Orchids. Flowers purple or 

 whitish, in terminal racemes. Leaves narrow, grass-like. 

 Pseudo-bulbs round, flattened. The flowers are freely 

 produced when the plants are thoroughly established, and 

 are valuable for bouquets, as well for their pleasing colour 

 as for the time they last in perfection. Bletias thrive 

 best in a compost of loam and leaf mould. About 2in. 

 of crocks, covered with a layer of moss, should be placed 



