222 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Bulbine continued. 

 B. alooides (Aloe-like).* fl. yellow, disposed in a terminal panicle. 



April. I. fleshy, tongue-shaped, lanceolate, flat on both sides. 



h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1732. SYN. Anthericum alooides. 



(B. M. 1317.) 

 B. annua (annual), fl. yellow ; scape racemose. May, June. I. 



fleshy, subulate, rounded, h. 9in. Cape of Good Hope, 1731. 



An annual species, the seeds of which should be sown in a gentle 



heat during spring, and the seedlings may be transplanted to the 



open when large enough to handle. SYN. Anthericum annuum. 



(B. M. 1451.) 

 B.caulescens (caulescent)."/, yellow. March. I. fleshy, rounded. 



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



A shrubby species, which should be propagated by cuttings, placed 



under a hand glass. SYN. B. frutescens. (B. M. 816.) 

 B. frutescens (shrubby). Synonymous with B. caulescent. 



BULBOCODIUM (from bolbos, a bulb, and kodion, 

 wool ; referring to the woolly covering of the bulbs). ORD. 

 Liliacece. TRIBE ColcUcece. A very pretty little bulbous 

 plant, much resembling the Crocus, 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. vernum, either in beds, patches, or masses. 

 B. Altchisoni (Aitchison's). A synonym of Merendera pergica. 

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

 B. trigynum. A synonym of Merendera caucasica. 



FIG. 301. BULBOCODIUM VERNDM. 



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

 claw ; long, tubular, funnel-shaped, two to three from each bulb ; 

 preceding the appearance of the leaves. Very early spring. 

 I usually three in number, 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. 



BTTLBOPHYLLUM (from buZbos.abulb, and phyllon, 

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

 pseudo-bulbs). STNS. Anisopetalum, Bolbophyllum, Tri- 

 brachium. ORD. Orchidece. Of this rather large genus of 

 orchids but few are worth cultivating except as curiosities. 

 Racemes long or spike-like, very rarely one-flowered or 

 sub-umbellato ; sepals 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 



Bulbophylltun 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 the grower. 



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

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

 the base as to be moved with the slightest breath. Sierra Leone, 

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

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



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

 violet ; lip brown, with a violet hue, proceeding from a rhizome 



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 foetid, and the leaves are larger 

 than those of any other known orchid. This species requires 

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



B. Lobbi (Lobb's).* /. 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. India. 



B. retienlatnm (netted-leaved).* fl. in pairs, white, striped 

 inside with purple ; lip spotted with the same colour. I. some- 

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

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

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



B. saltatorum (dancing). /. greenish-brown, lasting some time 

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



B. siamense (Siamese).* fl. rale yellow, striped with purple ; lip 

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

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

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

 peat and sphagnum. 



BULBOSTYLES (from bolbos, a bulb, and stylos, the 

 style). ORD. Composites. A small genus of stove ever- 

 green plants, now referred to Eupatorium. 



BULBS. A Bulb is formed upon or beneath the 

 ground, and is a swollen stock, consisting, in the first 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 Conns. 

 The flowering season varies according to the different sorts 

 of Bulbs. The majority may bo 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 may be often caused by their long-continued con- 

 finement 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 lenjrth of time. 



