180 



B O R 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL ; 



BOX 



autumn, will flower in May ; but those which are raised in 

 the spring, will not flower till June. 



2. Borage Indica ; Indian Borage. Leaves of the ramifi- 

 cations opposite, stem-clasping; .peduncles one-flowered. 

 An annual plant, rarely rising a foot high. Native of the 

 East Indies. The seeds of this, and the third and fourth spe- 

 cies, should be sown upon a hot-bed in March, and when the 

 plants are strong enough to be removed, they should be each 

 planted in a small pot filled with light earth, and plunged into 

 a new hot-bed to bring them forward, otherwise they will 

 not perfect their seeds in this country ; but in hot weather 

 they must have a great share of air, otherwise they will draw 

 up weak, and fail before the seeds are ripe. 



3. Borago Africana; African Borage. Leaves of the 

 ramifications petiolate; peduncles many-flowered; corolla 

 small, blue, yellow within, with five purplish spots. Native 

 of the Cape of Good Hope. See the second species. 



4. Borago Zeylanica ; Ceylon Borage. Branch-leaves al- 

 ternate, sessile ; peduncles one-flowered ; calices earless. 

 Native of the East Indies. See the second species. 



5. Borago Orientalis ; Oriental Borage. Calices shorter 

 than the tube of the corolla ; leaves cordate. Native of the 

 country about Constantinople. It is perennial ; and is easily 

 propagated by the root, which may be parted in the autumn ; 

 it should have a dry soil and a warm situation, for as the 

 flower-stalks appear early in the spring, when they are much 

 exposed, they are often killed by the frost : if it be planted 

 in dry rubbish, it will not grow too luxuriant, nor be in 

 danger of suffering by the frost. 



6. Borago Longifolia. Leaves linear-lanceolate, sessile, 

 alternate ; calix very hairy at the base. Native of Barbary. 



Borassus ; a genils of Palms (see the Appendix, Palmie, 

 ofLinneus.) GENERIC CHARACTER. Male, Ampana. Calix: 

 spathe universal, compound; spadix amentaceous, imbri- 

 cate ; perianth proper, three-leaved ; leaflets ovate, con- 

 cave. Corolla : none. Stamina:- filamenta six, thickish ; 

 antherae thicker, striated. Female, Carimpana, on a different 

 plant. Calix : spathe and spadix as in the male ; perianth 

 proper, three-leaved, permanent ; leaflets roundish, obtuse. 

 Corolla : petals three, roundish, small, acute, permanent. 

 Pistil: germen roundish ; styles three, small ; stigmas simple. 

 Pericarp: berry (drupe) roundish, obtuse, rigid, one-celled. 

 Seeds: three, subovate, compressed, distinct, filamentose. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Corolla? three-parted. Male. Sta- 

 mina : six Female. Styles : three. Drupe .- three-seeded. 

 The only known species is, 



I. Borassus Flabelliformis. Fronds palmate, plaited, 

 cowled ; stipes serrate. This tree is twenty-five or thirty feet 

 in height, two feet thick at bottom, and one at top. The 

 fruit is the size of a child's head. A wine and sugar are 

 made from the sap of this palm. It is a native of Ceylon, 

 the coast of Coromandel, and Java. 



Borbonia ; a genus of the class Dradelphia, order Decan- 

 dria. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth one-leafed, 

 semiquinquefid, turbinate, half the length of the corolla ; 

 divisions lanceolate, acuminate, rigid, pungent, subequal, the 

 lowest longer than the rest. Corolla : pentapetalous, papi- 

 lionaceous, hirsute on the outside ; banner reflected, obtuse, 

 claw the length of calix ; wings semicordate, a little shorter 

 than the banner ; keel two-petalled, lunnlate, obtuse. 

 Stamina . filamenta nine, united into a cylinder, gaping 

 longitudinally above, rising at the ends ; antherse small. 

 Pistil : ;ermen subulate ; style very short, ascending ; 

 stigma obtuse, emarginate. Pericarp: legume roundish, acu- 

 minate, one-celled, mncronate, with a spine. Seed: kidney - 

 j'orm. EtfrKN-rtAL CHARACTER. Calix; acuminate spiny. 



Stigma : emarginate. Legume : mucronate. The method 

 of propagating these plants, in the country, has been that of 

 laying down their shoots ; but these are commonly two years 

 before they put out roots fit to be separated from the old 

 plant. In laying these down, the joint which is laid in the 

 ground should be slit upward, as is practised in laying car- 

 nations, and the bark of the tongue at bottom taken off. The 

 best time is the beginning of September. But where good 

 seeds can be procured, that is the more eligible method of 

 propagating the plants ; for those raised from the seeds make 

 the straightest plants, and are quicker of growth. They 

 should be sown in pots filled with light loamy earth, as soon 

 as they are received ; if it happens in the autumn, the pots 

 should be plunged into an old bed of tanner's bark, under a 

 frame, where they may remain all the winter, being careful 

 that they are secured from frost, and have not much wet. 

 In the spring, the pots should be plunged into a hot-bed, 

 which will bring up the plants in five or six weeks. When 

 these are fit to remove, they should be each planted into a 

 small separate pot, filled with the like loamy earth, and 

 piunged into a moderate hot-bed, observing to shade them 

 until they have taken fresh root, as also to refresh them 

 with water as they may require it. After this they must by 

 degrees be inured to the open air, into which they should be 

 removed in June, and placed in a sheltered situation, where 

 they may remain till autumn, when they must be removed 

 into the green-house, and placed where they may enjoy the 

 air and sun. During the winter season, these plants must 

 be sparingly watered ; but in summer, when they are placed 

 abroad, they will require to be frequently refreshed, but 

 must not have too much water given them at each time. 

 These plants make a pretty variety in the green-house in 

 winter, and as they do not require any artificial heat to pre- 

 serve them, they are worthy of a place in every garden 

 where there is a conveniency for keeping them. They are 

 all natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The species are, 



1. Borbonia Ericifolia. Leaves sublinear, acute, villose ; 

 heads terminal ; flowers yellow, small. 



2. Borbonia Lsevigata. Leaves lanceolate, nerveless, 

 smooth ; involucres and calices rough with hairs. 



3. Borbonia TrinervSa. Leaves lanceolate, three-nerved, 

 quite entire. 



4. Borbonia Lanceolata ; Spear-leaved Borbonia. Leaves 

 lanceolate, many-nerved, quite entire. It flowers in August 

 and September. 



5. Borbonia Cordata. Heart-leaved Borbonia. Leaves 

 cordate, many-nerved, quite entire. 



6. Borbonia Crenata ; Notch-leaved Borbonia. Leaves 

 cordate, many-nerved, toothletted. 



Bosea ; a genus of the class Pentandria, order Digynia. 

 GENERIC CHARACTER. Calif : perianth, fire-leaved, equal; 

 leaflets roundish, concave, erect, thinner at the edge. Co- 

 rolla : none. Stamina : filamenta five, subulate, longer 

 than the calix; antherae simple. Pistil: germen ovate- 

 oblong, cuspidate ; style none ; stigma two. Pericarp : 

 berry-globular, one-celled. Seed: one, round, acuminate. 

 ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Calix : five-leaved. Corolla: none. 

 Berry . one-seeded. The only species is, 



1. Bosea Yervamora ; Golden-rod Tree. Leaves simple, 

 alternate, petioled, ovate, pointed, entire, smooth, with fine 

 purple nerves ; flowers reddish, in loose axillary racemes. 

 This is a pretty strong woody shrub, with a stem as large as 

 a middling person's leg. It is a native of the Canary Islands ; 

 and has also been since found in some of the British West 

 India Islands. 



Box-Thorn. See Lycium. 



