164 



BEG 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL 



B E J 



Beam Tree. See Crata-g'us Aria. 



Bean. See Vicia Faba. 



Bean, Kidney, or French. .See Phateolm. 



Bean Capor. See Zj/gophylum. 



Bean Trefoil. See Anagyrix and Cytisus. 



Bear-Berry. See Arbutus. 



Bear's Breech. See Acanthus. 



Bear's F.ars. See Primula Aricula. 



Bear's Ear Santrle. See I'frtxiscuni. 



Bear's Foot. See Helieborus. 



Bee-Flower, or Orchis. See Ophrys. 



Beech Tree. See Fagus. 



Beet. See Beta. 



Begonia ; a genus of the class Monnecia, order Polyamlria 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Male Plotters. Calix : none. 

 Corolla: petals four (in Bernoulli Octopetale six to nine) oi 

 which two opposite ones are larger, commonly roundish (in 

 Begonia Ferruginea all nearly equal, oblong.) Stamina : fila- 

 menta numerous (fifteen to one hundred) inserted into the 

 receptacle, very short, sometimes united at the base. Anthe- 

 rte oblong, erect. Female Flowers, usually on the same com- 

 mon peduncles with the males. Calix: none. Corolla .- pe- 

 tals in most species five, in some six, in others perhaps four, 

 commonly unequal. Pistil; germen inferior ; three-sided, 

 in very many winged ; styles in most three, bifid; stigmas six. 

 Pericarp: capsule in most three-cornered, winged, three- 

 celled, opening at the base by the wings ; some are two- 

 celled, and others perhaps one-celled. ESSENTIAL CHA- 

 RACTER. Malt. Calix: none. Corolla: many petalled. 

 Stamina: numerous. Female. Calix: none. Corolla: 

 many-petalled, superior. Capsule ; winged, many-seeded. 

 The plants of this genus increase readily by cuttings ; and if 

 kept in the bark-stove prove highly ornamental, being much 

 esteemed, both for the beauty of the flowers and the singu- 

 larity of the leaves. Where there is no bark-stove, they will 

 be found to do very well over the flue of the dry-stove. 

 The species are as follows : 



1. Begonia Nitida. Shrubby, erect ; leaves very smooth, 

 unequally cordate, obscurely toothed ; largest wing of the 

 capsule roundish ; corolla flesh or rose coloured. It is an 

 elegant shrub, flowering here from May till December. 

 Native of Jamaica. 



2. Begonia Isoptera. Caulescent ; leaves smooth, semi- 

 cordate, obscurely toothed ; wings of the capsule almost 

 equal, parallel ; seeds numerous, small. Native of Java. 



3. Begonia Reniformis. Caulescent 5 leaves kidney-shaped, 

 angular, toothed ; the largest wing of the capsule acute- 

 angled, the others parallel, very small. Native of Brazil, in 

 the shady clefts of the rocks. 



4. Begonia Erminia. Caulescent : leaves cordate, acumi- 

 nate, serrate ; the largest wing of the capsule sickle-shaped, 

 the rest obliterated. Native of Madagascar, on stones and 

 rocks by brooks. 



5. Begonia Crenata. Caulescent : leaves unequally cor- 

 date, roundish, obtuse, crenate-toothed; capsules two-celled ; 

 flowers pale red. Native of the island of Salsette in the 

 East Indies, on walls and rocks. 



<>' Begonia Tenuifolia. Caulescent : leaves unequally 

 cordate, ovate, actrte-angular, obscurely toothed ; capsules 

 two-celled. Native of Prince's Island, near Java. 



~. Begonia Ferrnginea. Caulescent : leaves unequally 

 cordate, toothed ; petals of the male flower oblong, nearly 

 equal; flowers blood red, nodding. Found in NewGranada. 



8. Begonia Grandis. Caulescent: leaves unequally cor- 

 date, angular, serrate ; wings of the capsule a little unequal ; 

 male corolla purple. Native of Japan. 



9. Begonia Macrophylla. This is two feet high, entirely 

 smooth ; female flowers five petalled. A native of the 

 islands in the West Indies. 



1O Begonia Acutifolia Caulescent : leaves semicordate, 

 angular, toothed ; the largest wing of the capsule obtuse- 

 angled, the others acute-angled. Native of Jamaica. 



1 1 . Begonia Acuminata. Caulescent : leaves hispid, semi- 

 cordate, acuminate, unequally toothed ; the largest wing of 

 tlie capsule obtuse-angled, the others acute-angled. Found 

 in the Blue Mountains in Jamaica. 



12. Begonia Humilis. Caulescent, upright; leaves hispid, 

 semicordate, doubly serrate ; wings of the capsule rounded, 

 a little unequal. Native of the island of Trinidad. 



13. Begonia Hirsuta. Caulescent: leaves hispid, semicor- 

 date, doubly serrate ; the largest wing of the capsule obtuse- 

 angled, the others parallel and very small ; corolla white. 

 Observed on the rocks of Guiana, in South America. 



14. Begonia UrticBE. Caulescent, radicant: leaves hispid 

 on both sides, unequally ovate, doubly serrate j capsules 

 three- horned at the base ; flowers usually in pairs, a male 

 with a female ; males blood-red ; no stamina ; no rudiment 

 of a pistil. Found by Mutis in New Granada. 



15. Begonia Scandens. Scandent, radicant: leaves ovate- 

 roundish, obscurely-toothed ; the largest wing of the capsule 

 obtusely angled, the others parallel and very small. Native 

 of Guiana, of Jamaica, and of the Isle of France. 



16. Begonia Tuberosa. Creeping : -leaves unequally cor- 

 date, angular, toothed ; wings of the capsule parallel. Na- 

 tive of Amboyna, the Moluccas, and Celebes. 



17. Begonia Rotundifolia. Creeping; leaves reniform, 

 roundish, crenate ; stems thick, cylindric, naked, with small 

 permanent stipules, between which they are marked with 

 scars from the fallen leaves. The leaves are slightly crenate, 

 green, and shining above, white beneath, on pretty long 

 petioles. From the end of each stem arises a peduncle, or 

 rather scape, longer than the leaves, bearing an umbel- 

 shaped panicle of red moncecous flowers at the top. Native 

 of South America, on rocks and trees. 



18. Begonia Nana. Stemless : leaves lanceolate ; scape 

 with about two flowers. Native of Madagascar, on rocks 

 and trunks of trees. 



19. Begonia Tenera. Stemless : leaves unequally cordate ; 

 lowers umbelled. Native of Ceylon. 



20. Begonia Diptera. Stemless : leaves unequally cor- 

 date ; peduncles dichotomous : one wing of the capsule very 



arge, another narrow, and the third obscure. Native of the 



sland of Joanna, in shady places, by the sides of mountains. 



91. Begonia Octopetala. Stemless : leaves cordate, five- 



.obed ; peduncles dichotomous ; root tuberous, viscid, purple 



within. Found on the mountains of Lima. 



22. Begonia Malabarica. Stems herbaceous ; peduncles ax- 

 llary, short, subtriflorous ; fruits berried. Native of Malabar. 



23. Begonia Repens. Stems creeping, rooting at the 

 oints ; leaves one-eared ; peduncles axillary, long, many- 

 lowered. Native of St. Domingo. 



Bejario ; a genus of the class Dodecandria, order Monogy- 

 liii. GKNKRIC CHARACTER. (.'alix : perianth one-leafed, 

 STibbous downwards, subventricose, seven-cleft ; divisions 

 .ubcqual, ovate, acute, converging, smaH ; the outer ones 

 >roader, permanent. Corolla : petals seven, oblong, broader 

 ibove, obtuse, patulous, inserted into the receptacle. 

 ninti: iilamenta fourteen, subulate, rather shorter than 

 he corolla, alternately less. Antherae oblong, incumbent. 

 I'istil : germen superior ; style columnar, middle-sized, per- 

 manent ; stigma thickish, seven-striated. Pericarj): berry 

 juiceles*, seven-cornered, depressed, umbilicate, seven-celled. 



