AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



205 



Botrychitun continued. 



sterile segments 2in. to 4in. long, the latter Sin. to 6in. each way, 

 deltoid, tri- or quadripinnatifld ; lower pinnae much the largest. 

 fertile peduncle 6m. to 9in. long ; panicle lin. to 6in. long; deltoid, 

 very compound. Nootka and Hudson's Bay territory. Several 

 so-called species come very close to this, including 

 australe, lunarioideg, and obliquum, which are only 

 geographical varieties. Greenhouse species. 

 B. vlrglnianum (Virginian).* sti. Sin. to 18in. long. 

 sterile segments sessile, 4in. to 12in. each way, deltoid, 

 quadripinnatifid; lower pinnae much the largest; pin- 

 nules oval-oblong, close, cut down to the rachis into 

 finely cut linear-oblong segments, fertile peduncle equal- 

 ling or exceeding the sterile part of the plant when 

 mature ; panicle lin. to 4in. long, loose, oblong. Oregon, 

 and North United States, 1790. A hardy species in shel- 

 tered places. (H. G. F. 29.) 



BOTTLE-GOURD. See Lag-eiiaria. 



BOTTLE-TREE. See Sterculia rupestris. 



BOTTOM HEAT. This is usually secured by 

 passing hot- water pipes through an air chamber, or 

 a water tank, beneath a bed of plunging material. 

 The covering of the tank or chamber is best made 

 of slate. The heat must be regulated according to 

 the requirements of the subjects grown; this is 

 easily accomplished by using the valve. A ther- 

 mometer should be placed in the tank or bed. 

 Bottom-heat is indispensable for propagating plants 

 from seeds and cuttings, especially in spring. See 

 Heating and Hotbeds. 



BOTJCEROSIA (from boukeros, furnished with 

 buffaloes' horns ; in reference to the curved lobes 

 of the corona). OBD. As- 

 clepiadecB. A genus of 

 greenhouse succulent pe- 

 rennials, allied to Stapelia, 

 and requiring the same cul- 

 ture. Flowers numerous, 

 terminal, umbellate ; co- 

 rolla sub-campanulate, five-cleft; 

 segments broadly triangular, with 

 acute recesses ; stramineous co- 

 rona fifteen-lobed ; lobes disposed 

 in a double series ; the five inner 

 ones opposite the stamens and 

 lying upon the anthers ; the rest 

 exterior, erect, or a little incurved 

 at apex, adhering to the back of 

 the inner ones. Branches and 

 stems tetragonal, with toothed 

 angles. 



Bougainvillaea continued. 



the bracts, which envelop the small greenish flowers. 

 B. glabra may be grown in pots, or planted out in the 

 greenhouse borders ; the others are best planted out, as 



Fio. 268. BOUCEROSIA 



ECROPjEA. 



B. europaua (European), fl. purple- 

 brown, yellow. Summer. h. 4in. 

 Sicily, 1833. SYNS. Apteranthes and 

 Stapelia Gussaniana. See Fig. 268. 

 (B. E. 1731.) 



B. maroccana (Morocco).* /. dark 

 red purple, with yellow concentric 



lines. Summer. I. minute, trowel-shaped, deflexed at tip of 

 stem angles, h. 4in. Morocco, 1875. (B. M. 6137.) 



BOUCHEA (named after C. and P. Bouche, German 

 naturalists). OBD. Verbenacece. A small genus of stove or 

 greenhouse evergreen herbs or sub-shrubs. Flowers sub- 

 sessile, in spicate racemes, which are either terminal or in 

 the forking of two branches ; corolla funnel-shaped. Leaves 

 opposite, toothed. They thrive in a well-drained compost 

 of loam and sandy peat. Propagated by cuttings, placed 

 in sand, under a glass, and in a gentle heat, during spring. 

 B. cnneifolia (wedge-shaped-leaved), fl. white. April, h. 4ft. 



Cape of Good Hope, 1821. A greenhouse evergreen shrub. 



SYN. Chaseanum cuneifolium. 

 B. pseudogervao (false-gerva6). /. purplish, with white throat; 



spike terminal, 6in. to lOin. long, slender. September. I. opposite, 



ovate, or elliptic-ovate, acuminate, serrated. Stems tetragonous. 



A. 2ft. to 5ft. Brazil, 1874. A stove perennial. (B. M. 6221). 



BOUGAINVILLAEA (named after De Bougainville, a 



French navigator). OBD. Nyctaginece. Gorgeous warm 



greenhouse or conservatory plants, comprising some of the 



most showy climbers in cultivation. Their beauty lies in 



FIG. 269. FLOWERING BRANCH OP BOUGAINVIU..KA SPF.CTABIUS. 



they root very freely, and plenty of space would be occu- 

 pied if allowed, but it is best to limit it, as they flower 

 much better. Strict training and pinching are not de- 

 sirable, being prejudicial to the free production of blossom ; 

 indeed, the best plan is to allow the plants to ramble freely 

 over the roof of a moderately high house, or along the upper 

 portion of a back wall ; they will then flower profusely for 

 several months in the year, provided proper attention be 

 paid to watering, and that the plants are in a well- drained 

 situation. In preparing 'a border for their reception, the 

 first point to be considered is the drainage, which must be 

 perfect. This is best effected by placing a layer of brick 

 rubbish, 6in. to 9in. in thickness, communicating with the 

 drain, by which means all sourness and stagnancy of the 

 soil will be obviated. The bed should be excavated to a 

 depth of 18in. or 2ft. Three parts turfy loam, and one 

 part leaf soil, with the admixture of a liberal quantity 

 of sharp gritty sand, will form a suitable compost for the 

 culture of Bougainvillaeas. The amount of sand incorpo- 

 rated must depend upon the quality of the other com- 

 ponents, heavy loam requiring more than that which is more 

 friable. The occasional incorporation of manure in the 

 compost is not to be recommended ; but a liberal applica- 

 tion of liquid manure will be of material advantage, espe- 

 cially if the root space is limited. When the plants cease 

 flowering each year about November or December 

 they should be dried off and rested; and in February 

 they should be closely spurred in, the same as with vines, 

 and all weak leaders removed, so that strong wood only is 

 left. When grown in pots, they must be started in brisk 

 heat. They are easily increased by cuttings prepared 

 from the half -ripened wood; these should be placed in 

 sandy soil, in a brisk bottom heat, when they will soon 

 root. Scale, red spider, and mealy bug are the only insects 

 likely to infest the plants, and recipes for their destruction 

 will be found under each individual name. 

 B. glabra (smooth).* ft., inflorescence panicled, smaller than that 

 offi. speciosa, each branchlet producing cordate-ovate acute rosy 



