164 



fi A S 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



BAT 



5. Bartsia Gymnandria. Two-stamined ; leaves radical, 

 twofold, petioled; stem mostlytwo-leaved, threeor four inches 

 high, round, smooth, simple; one spiked ; spike linear, obtuse ; 

 whorls bracted, collected ; corolla pale blue. It grows 

 within the arctic circle on the north side of the frozen rocks 

 in Kamptschatka, where there is no other vegetation. 



6. Bartsia Odontites ; Red Bartsia, Leaves lanceolate, 

 serrate, the upper alternate ; flowers in racemes, inclining to 

 one sidej corolla rose-coloured; antherae smooth; root fibrous, 

 annual. Common in meadows and pastures, flowering in July. 



Basella. ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Trigynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix .- none. Corolla : seven- 

 deft, pitcher-shaped, the two outer divisions broader, one 

 within the rest, converging above, fleshy at the base. Sta- 

 mina : filamenta five, subulate, equal, fastened to the corolla, 

 and shorter than it. Antherae roundish. Pistil -. germen 

 superior, subglobular ; styles three, filiform, the length of 

 the stamina ; stigmas oblong, on one side of the tops of the 

 styles. Pericarp; corolla permanent, closed, fleshy, counter- 

 feiting a berry. Seed .- single, roundish. ESSENTIAL CHA- 

 RACTER. Calix : none. Corolla : seven-cleft ; two oppo- 

 site divisions shorter, at length berried. Seed .- one; These 

 plants are propagated by seeds, which should be sown on a 

 hot-bed in the spring, and when they are fit to remove, they 

 should be each planted in a separate pot filled with rich 

 earth, and plunged into the tan-bed, where they must be 

 treated in the same manner as other tender exotics. They 

 may also be propagated by cuttings, which should be laid to 

 dry a day or two after they are taken from the plants, before 

 they are planted, that the wound may heal ; otherwise they 

 will rot. These cuttings should be treated in the same man- 

 ner as the seedling plants ; but as these plants rise so easily 

 from seed, it is seldom they are propagated any other way ; 

 because they are plants of short duration. They climb to a 

 considerable height, and send forth a great number of 

 branches, so that they should have a place near the back of 

 the stove, where they may be trained up to a trellis, or fast- 

 ened to the back of the stove, otherwise they will twist 

 themselves about whatever plants stand near them, and be 

 very injurious to the other plants ; whereas, when they are re- 

 gularly trained to a trellis,they will have agood effect in adding 

 to the variety. They flower from June till autumn, and the 

 seeds ripen in September and December. The species are, 



1. Basella Rubra ; Red Malabar Nightshade. Leaves 

 flat ; peduncles simple. The flowers of this plant have no 

 great beauty, but the plant is preserved for the odd appear- 

 ance of the stalks and leaves. It is a native of the East In- 

 dies, Amboyna, Japan, &c. A beauiful colour is drawn from 

 the berries ; but when used for painting, does not continue 

 very long, but changes to a pale colour. It is thought, how- 

 ever, this beautiful colour might be fixed, so as to become 

 very useful ; for the juice of these berries has been used for 

 .staining calico's in India. 



2. Basella Alba ; White Malabar Nightshade. Leaves ob- 

 long and flaccid. The stalks, flowers, and fruit, are smaller than 

 those of the first species. Native of China and Amboyna. 



3. Basella Lucida ; Shining Malabar Nightshade. Leaves 

 subcordate ; peduncles crowned, branching. Native of the 

 East Indies. 



4. Basella Nigra; Black Malabar Nightshade. Leaves 

 round-ovate, alternate, thick, smooth, entire, petioled ; spikes 

 lateral ; stem perennial, twining, slender, round, succulent, 

 branched ; flowers purple and white, lateral, few, in long soli- 

 tary spikes. This is a native both of China and Cochin, in 

 the hedges and fences of their gardens. 



Basil, See Otymum and Clinnpodivm. 



Bassia : a genus of the class Dodecandria, order Mono- 

 gynia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calii : perianth four- 

 leaved; leaflets coriaceous, ovate, permanent. Corolla : mo- 

 nopetalous, bell-shaped ; tube inflated, ovate, fleshy ; border 

 shorter than the tube, eight-parted ; divisions ovate, almost 

 upright. Stamina . filamenta sixteen, eight below the jaws, 

 and eight in the middle of the tube. Antherae linear, sagit- 

 tate, acute, villose on the inside, shorter than the corolla. 

 Pistil : germen superior, ovate ; style subulate, twice as long 

 as the corolla ; stigma acute. Pericarp : drupe fleshy, milky. 

 Seeds ; nuts five, oblong, three-cornered. ESSEN. CHAR. 

 Calix ; four-leaved. Corolla : eight-cleft; tube inflated. Sta- 

 mina : sixteen. Drupe : five-seeded. The species are, 



1. Bassia Longifolia. Leaves ovate-lanceolate ; pedun- 

 cles axillary. This is a lofty tree, with the outmost branches 

 recurved, thickish, and covered with a gray down. Native 

 of Malabar and Ceylon. 



2. Bassia Dubia. Seed large, half-moon shaped, flatted 

 like a lens, smooth, shining, of a dark chestnut colour, except 

 an oblong rugged umbilical area, which is pale, and almost 

 white. The shell is thick, stony, and very hard. Native 

 country not ascertained. 



3. Bassia Obovata. Leaves obovate ; peduncles heaped, 

 terminating. Native of the isle of Tanna in the South Seas. 



Bassovia; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Monogy- 

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix; perianth one-leafed, 

 permanent, five-parted ; parts ovate, acute. Corolla : one- 

 petalled ; tube very short ; border five-cleft, spreading ; clefts 

 ovate, acute, larger than the calix. Stamina : filamenta five, 

 inserted in the tube of the corolla, and opposite to its clefts. 

 Antherae ovate. Pistil . germen ovate, sitting on a glandule ; 

 style short ; stigma thickish, obtuse. Pericarp : berry ovate, 

 knobbed. Seeds ; very many, kidney-shapr,l, girt with a 

 membrane, nestling in a pulp. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. 

 Corolla ; five-cleft, spreading, with a very short tube. Berry .- 



ovate, knobbed, with many seeds. The only species 



known, belonging to this genus, is, 



1. Bassovia Sylvatica. Stems herbaceous, three or four 

 feet high, branched ; leaves alternate, ovate, acute smooth, 

 quite entire, on a petiole about an inch in length ; the largest 

 are ten inches long, and four and a half broad ; flowers in 

 axillary corymbs, green, and very small. Native of Guiana, 

 in wet forests, flowering and fruiting in June. 



Bastard Alkanet. See Lithospcrmum. 



Bastard Balm. See Melittis. 



Bastard Cabbage-tree. See Geoffroya. 



Bastard Cedar. See Theobroma Guazuma. 



Bastard Cress. See Thlaspi. 



Bastard Feverfew. See Parthenium. 



Bastard Gentian. See Sarothra. 



Bastard Hare's Ear. See Phyllis. 



Bastard Hatchet Vetch. See Biserrula. 



Bastard Hemp. See Datisca. 



Bastard Hibiscus. See Achania. 



Bustard Jesuit's Bark Tree. See Iva. 



Bastard Indigo. See Amorpha. 



Bastard Knot Grass. See Corrigiola. 



Bastard Lupine. See Trifolium l.u/iinmter. 



Bastard Orpine. See Andrachne. 



Bastard Pimpernel. See Centitnculiis. 



Bastard Plantain. See IMiccitiii Bihai, and Centuncuhu. 



Bastard Quince. See Mespilus Chamtrnicspilus, 



Bastard Saffron. See Carthamus. 



Bastard Toad/lax. See Thesimn. 



Bastard Vetch. See Phaca. 



Batatas. See Convolvulus. 



