71 R Y 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



B R Y 



201 



in": to water and shade them until they have taken root ; 

 after which they must have air admitted to them every day, 

 in proportion to the warmth of the season. When the plants 

 have risen too high to be continued in the frames, they 

 should he removed to the bark-stove, where, during the sum- 

 mer months, they should have a large share of free air ; but 

 in winter they must be kept very close ; with this manage- 

 ment the plants will be very strong, and produce their (lowers 

 every season. They may also be increased by planting cut- 

 tings in the spring, before they begin to make new shoots, in 

 p its filled with fresh light earth, and plunged into a hot-bed 

 of tanner's bark, observing to water and shade them until 

 they have taken root ; after which, they must be managed 

 as has been directed for other tender exotic plants from the 

 ame countries. The species are, 



1. Brunfelsia Americana. Leaves elliptic, acuminate, on 

 longer petioles ; tube of the corolla erect ; border entire. 

 /ruit green, with a red receptacle. This is a tree, with a 

 smooth and even trunk ; growing from ten to fifteen feet in 

 height ; native of Jamaica, and most of the sugar islands 

 ill the West Indies, where they call it Trumpet-flower. 



2. Brunfelsia Undulata. Leaves lanceolate-ovate, drawn 

 to a point at both ends ; petioles very short ; tube of the 

 corolla curved; border waved. Native also of Jamaica. 



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

 nia. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : perianth common, 

 roundish, imbricate, many-flowered ; leaflets ovate-oblong. 

 Proper five-leaved, inferior ; leaflets oblong, villose. Corolla : 

 petals five ; claws slender j borders roundish, spreading. 

 Stamina: filamenta five, capillary, inserted into the claws 

 of the petals ; anthers ovate-oblong. Pistil : germen very 

 small, superior ; style simple, cylindric ; stigma obtuse. 

 Pericarp and Seed: not ascertained. Receptacle: common, 

 hairy. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Flowers : aggregate. 

 Filamenta : inserted into the claws of the petals. Stigma : 

 bifid. Seeds : solitary, two-celled. The species are, 



1. Brunia Lanuginosa ; Heath-leaved Brunia. Leaves 

 linear, spreading, callous at the end; stem afoot high, shrubby. 

 Flowers white, borne in heads. Native of the Cape. 



2. Brunia Ciliata ; Ciliate-leaved Brunia. Leaves ovate, 

 acuminate, ciliate ; the germen is superior, and the style 

 bifid. Native of the Cape. 



3. Brunia Verticillata ; Whorled Brunia, Leaves three- 

 cornered ; branchlets in whorls, fastigiate ; heads termi- 

 nating, smooth, small, not globular. Found at the Cape 

 of Good Hope by Thunberg. 



Bryonia; a genus of the class Monoccia, order Syngenesia, 

 (Pentandria, Smith.} GENERIC CHARACTER. Male Flowers. 

 Calix : perianth one-leafed, bell-shaped, five-toothed ; tooth- 

 lets subulate. Corolla: five-parted, bell-shaped, fastened 

 to the calix ; divisions ovate. Stamina : filamenta three, 

 very short ; antherae five, two connate on each of two 

 filamenta, and a single one on the third. Female Flowers. 

 ' perianth as in the males, superior, deciduous. Co- 

 rolla : as in the males. Pistil: germen inferior ; style trifid, 

 the length of the corolla, expanded ; stigmas emarginate, 

 patulous. Pericarp; berry subglobular, smooth, and even. 

 Seeds : a few, fastened to the coat, subovate. ESSENTIAL 

 CHARACTER. Calix : five-toothed. Corolla: five-parted. 

 Male. Filamenta three. Female. Style quadrifid. Berry 

 subglobular, many-seeded. The species are, 



1. Bryonia Alba ; Black-berried White. Bryony. Leaves 

 palmate, callous-scabrous on both sides ; flowers monoecous ; 

 berries black. Native of Sweden, Denmark, Carniola, Eng- 

 land, and other parts of Europe, in hedges. The root is 

 aid to he one of the best diuretics known in medicine : it is 



VOL. i. 17. 



an excellent remedy in the gravel, and all other obstructions 

 of urine, and in disorders of the urinary passages in females. 

 For propagation and culture, see the next species. 



2. Bryonia Dioica ; Red-berried While Bryony. Leaves 

 palmate, callous-scabrous on both sides ; flowers dioecousj 

 berries red. It is easily distinguished by its prodigious root ; 

 its stems climbing by tendrils ; leaves resembling those of 

 the vine in shape, not smooth however as they are, but 

 harsh and rugged, and of a paler colour ; and by its bunches 

 of small berries, which are red when ripe, and produced on 

 a different plant from the male flowers. It is called in English, 

 Bryony, White Bryony, White Wild Vine, Wild Hops, Wild 

 Nep, and Tetter-berry ; in German, zaunrube, stickuiurz ; in 

 Dutch, witte bryone, wild tcyngaard ; in Swedish, hundrosva ; 

 in Danish, valskrove, galdebcer, hundebar ; in French, bryone, 

 couleuvree ; in Italian, brionia, vite bianca ; in Spanish, mteza 

 alba. It is common in the hedges of these countries, and 

 flowers in May with us. Goats alone are said to eat this 

 plant. The roots of Bryony grow to a vast size, and have 

 been formerly, by impostors, brought into a human shape, 

 carried about the country, and shown for Mandrakes to the 

 common people. The method which these knaves practised, 

 was, to open the earth round a young thriving Bryony plant, 

 being careful not to disturb the lower fibres of the root ; to fix 

 a mould, such as is used by those who make plaster figures, 

 close to the root, fastening it with wire to keep it in its proper 

 situation ; and then to fill in the earth about the root, leaving 

 it to grow to the shape of the mould, which is effected in one 

 summer : see Atropa Mandragora. Bryony is a famous hy- 

 dragogue, and highly purgative, and acrid : a drachm of it in 

 substance, or half an ounce infused in wine, is a full dose ; 

 others give two drachms in dropsical cases, and have used 

 half an ounce of the fresh root, or three drachms of it dry, in 

 decoction, without purging : some it purges moderately, 

 others violently, and it frequently becomes diuretic and dia- 

 phoretic. A cold infusion of water is used externally in 

 sciatic pains : a cataplasm of it is a most powerful discutient : 

 a decoction, made with one pound of the fresh root, is the 

 best purge for horned cattle. The active virtues of this 

 plant seem to give it a claim to more attention than is now 

 bestowed upon it. Small doses of the juice, given with 

 white wine, promote the menses, and hasten delivery ; and 

 in larger doses, it is an excellent medicine in the jaun- 

 dice, dropsy, and other complaints of a like nature. Made 

 into syrup with honey, and a small quantity of vinegar, it is 

 beneficial in asthmatic complaints : it likewise kills worms 

 in the stomach and intestines, and is good in hysteric cases, 

 but for this purpose it must be given in very small quantities, 

 and the use of it continued for some time. This, and the 

 first species, or common European Bryony, may be cultivated 

 in a garden for use, by sowing the berries in the spring, on 

 a dry poor soil : in two years' time, the roots will grow to a 

 large size, if the plants be not placed too close together. It 

 may, however, be in general easily procured on dry banks 

 and in hedges, in most parts of England. 



3. Bryonia Palmata ; Palmated Bryony. Leaves palmate, 

 smooth, and even, five-parted ; divisions lanceolate, repand- 

 serrate. Native of Ceylon. This, and the fourth, fifth, 

 sixth, and seventh species, require the protection of the bark- 

 stove, according to the climate they come from. They are 

 also propagated by seeds sown upon a hot-bed : when they 

 are fit to transplant, they should be put into pots filled with 

 light fresh earth, and must have as much air as possible, and 

 may be frequently refreshed with water in dry weather : 

 several of them will endure the open air in the summer sea- 

 son, but in winter they must all be sheltered, and then they 

 3F 



