BRASSICA 



BBECK 



179 



AA. Whojp plant gi-ffH <>r hut slightly f/lnucotis when 

 :n floirer: Irs. en the fl. -stems vot prominently 

 rfaspinf! : fl.s. small and yellow. Annuals. 

 {Siuapis or Mn,sfar(l.) 



B. Pod terete or nearly so. 

 juncea, Coss. {Sindpis jiincea, Linn.). Chinese Mus- 

 tard. Figs. 259, 267. Rank and coarse grower, in tlie 

 common forms making great tufts of root-lvs. if sown 

 early: radical Ivs. generally abundant and often very 

 large, oval or oboval in outline, the blade angled or 

 toothed, tapering into a narrow petiole, which generally 

 bears leafy appendages ; lower stem-lvs, more or less 

 toothed and petiolate, the upper ones oblong or oblong- 

 lanceolate, entire and usually sessile or clasping : flow- 

 ering stems and Ivs. more or less lightly glaucous : fls. 

 bright yellow : pod slender, of medium size, tapering 

 into a short beak. Asia. — This much abused species is 

 held by Hooker and Thomson (Journ. Linn. Soc. v, 170; 

 to include a great variety of forms, as Shiapis Ic&vigatu, 

 Linn.; .S'. integrifolia, 'Willd.; S. ramosa, Tiigosa, pa- 

 tens, rtnif'tfolitt , Roxbg. ; S. lanceolata,DG., and others. 

 ThiTc arc two types of it in cultivation in our gardens, 

 <»nt' witii tln' radical Ivs. somewhat sharply toothed and 

 nearly sniontli below {sometimes growm as Brassica [or 

 Sinapis] rugo.^ia), the other with root-lvs. obtusely 

 toothed and spinescent on the veins below (comprising 

 Chinese Mustard, Chinese Broad-leaved Mustard, and 

 Brown Mustard). Liunreus founded his Shiapis juncea 

 upon a flgure in Hermann's Paradisus (Hermann, Para- 

 disus Batavus, t. 230, 170n}, which represents a plant 



anth-tube : fr. 3-ceHed. many-seeded. Native of the 

 iiHiuntaiTi and table land region of Mex.— Five species 

 hav*' Ikmu described, but recent explorations have 

 brought to light some 5 or 6 additional species. While 



263. Tuberous Root of Pak-Ch 



very like the former type mentioned above, and which 

 Hermann described as "lettuce-leaved." 



ilba, Boiss. Wild Mustard. Tall : Ivs, pinnatifid 

 and rough -hairy: pods .spreading, hairy, the lower part 

 thick and few-seeded : seeds pale brown, large. Weed, 

 from Europe. 



Sinapistrum, Boiss. Charlock. Tall : Ivs. strong- 

 toothed, or sometimes nearly lyrate : pods knotty, 

 glabrous or hairy, the upper third indehiscent and 

 2-edged, usually 1-seeded. Weed, from Europe. 



BB. Pod distinctly 4-angled. 

 nigra, Koch. Black Mustard. Fig. 2G8. Wide- 

 spreading and loose grower : Ivs. pinnatifid, somewhat 

 hairy : pods short and erect, glabrous ; seeds small and 

 dark brown, i)ungent. supplying the mustard of com- 

 merce. Cult, in En., but a weed in this country. — Com- 

 mercial mustard is the flour of the seeds of this species 

 chiefly, but the seeds of B. alba and probably of B. 

 juncea are sometimes used. L H B 



BRAVOA I Bravo, Mexican botanist). Amarylliddcea'. 

 A small irenus, much resembling in some of its species 

 the tiibenise ( Polianthes), and considered by the writer 

 as hardly distinct from it. Steins >I(iider. fntni small 

 thickened rootstocks: Ivs. mostly basal: iiiri'M-fscence a 

 lax spike or raceme; fls. always in jiairs niori' or less 

 bent or curved ; stamens G, included within the peri- 



od Mustard - 



the flowers are not as showy as the common tuberose, 

 yet the genus should be found in every choice bulb col- 

 lection. Only one species has been cultivated to any 

 extent, and even this species is not well known. As the 

 species often grow in the high mountains of Mexico, 

 they ought to be hardy in the 

 southern stretches of the tem- 

 perate zone. 



geminiflora, Llav. & Lex. 

 MEXit.'AX Twin Flower. Stems 

 1-2 ft. Iii^ih: bulbs small, 1-1>^ 

 in. loll^^ the outer scales cut 

 into tine fibers at the top : basal 

 Ivs. linear, erect, 6 lines or less 

 broad, smooth: fls. in a slender 

 raceme, i-eddish or orange-col- 

 ored ; lobes minute, rounded. 

 B. M. 4741. — Handsome, and 

 worthy of more attention. 



B. Bullidna, Baker. Basal Ivs. 

 described as lanceolate. 1-lK in. 

 broad : fls. in 5 or 6 pairs, white. 

 Seemingly too near the little known 

 Polianthes Mexicana. Notiucidt.- 

 B. sessiliflora, B. densiflora, and B. 

 singulifldra are rare species, only 

 known from herbarium specimens. 

 The latter two, however, should 

 probably be excluded from this 

 eroup. j_ N, Rose. 



BEAZIL NUT. See Bertholletia. 

 BREAD FRUIT. See Artocarpus. 

 BREAD NUT is Brosimum AUca.sfrum. 



BRECK. JOSEPH (1794-1873). Plate II. Boston seeds- 

 man, and author of "The Flower Garden, or Breck's Book 

 of Flowers," fir^t poblisbcd in 1851. and reissued in 18fi6 



263. Pe - 1 s.ai Cabbaee — Brassica Pe -Tsai. 



