BEGONIA 



BELLIS 



485 



Ute John Saul, was intro. from Guatemala: resembles B. Feastii 

 in the shape and color of its Ivs., but with a distinct red sinus at 

 junction of petiole with If. Probably not now cult, under this 

 name. B. sceptrum, Hort. Erect, sparsely branched: sts. light 

 brown colored with red on young growth: Ivs. large, broadly ovate, 

 deeply lobed, margins serrate, pale green suffused with red and 

 irregularly blotched with white, prominently veined on the under- 

 side; petioles bright red: fls. 10-20 in a cluster, pink or white. B. 

 ttiomtisa, Lindl. St. a short, creeping rhizome: Ivs. large, cordate- 

 acute, irregularly toothed, smooth above, hairy beneath, green, 

 with purple-brown blotches: fls. insignificant, white, in cymose 

 panicles. Mex. B. Slurzii, Hort. A floriferous form of B. sem- 

 perflorens, with rose-pink fls. in broad panicles, and Ivs. white- 

 spotted. B. subpeUi'Ua niyricans, Hort. (B. nigricans, Hort. ). 

 Plant 2-3 ft. high: Ivs. ovate, acuminate, blood-red below, silvery 

 and slightly hairy above, 4-8 in. long, 2-4 in. across: fls. rose-pink, 

 profuse: caps, wings equal, pink. Very useful for decoration. Var. 

 Pret. de BoureuiUes, Hert.. has Ivs. of a much richer color, and more 

 profusely studded with red hairs: fls. of a deeper pink. B. Temp- 

 linii, Hort. Sport from B. phyllomaniaca var. variegata: differs in 

 having its regular blotches over the face of the Ivs. varying from 

 true yellow to light sujfur-color, often with blending of shades of 

 pink: 2H-3 ft.: Ivs. oblique, the margins ruffled and fringed. Origi- 

 nated with H. G. Wolfgang, of the Templin Co., Calla, Ohio, and 

 put in the trade in 1905. F.E. 18:258. Tree. A group of large- 

 growing begonias produced by Mrs. Theodosia B. Shepherd, Calif. 

 Some of them are described as a cross of Gloire de Jouy by Rubra, 

 having the cane-like growth of Rubra (B. coccinea) .with its long- 

 stemmed fls. but larger sepals and pistils; Ivs. illuminated with red, 

 terra-cotta, pink and yellow. Other giants are seedlings of Pink 

 Rubra, with stronger canes, larger Ivs., and more beautiful fls., the 

 Iva. on young growth spotted with silver (Princess Alice, Rubra 

 Bamboo, Striking Beauty, Hebe and others, are of this parentage). 

 B. unifdlia. Rose. A singular begonia from Mex., recently 

 described (Rep. Mo. Bot. Card., 1904, p. 79, Fig. 28): tuberous- 

 rooted: If. 1, lying on the ground, sessile, nearly orbicular, double- 

 toothed: fls. on slender scape to 2 ft. high, nearly white. Not in 

 the trade. Voss. has called the hybrids of the rhizomatous group 

 B. rkizohybrida and of the fibrous-rooted upright caulescent group 

 B. cauhhybrida; these names represent such various and often 

 unlike forms that they will probably have little application in 

 common practice, although useful for taxonomic purposes. 



L. H. B. 



BELAMCANDA (East Indian name). Iridacex. 

 BLACKBERRY LILY. LEOPARD FLOWER. A hardy, her- 

 baceous perennial, which is an old 

 garden favorite. The first of the 

 popular names comes from the 

 clusters of shining black roundish 

 seeds, and the second from the 

 flower, which is orange, spotted 

 red. It is more commonly sold as 

 a Pardanthus, which also means 

 leopard flower. 



Perianth segms. oblong, the 3 

 inner slightly shorter and spirally 

 twisting as they fade : stamens in 

 one group only at 

 the base : caps, 

 pear - shaped, the 

 valves ultimately 

 falling away. 

 Prop, by seeds or 

 by division. Of easy 

 culture in rich, sandy 

 loam and in a sunny 

 place. Sometimes, but 

 incorrectly, spelled Be- 

 lemcanda. One species. 



chinensis, DC. (Gern- 

 nungia chint n *i . 

 Kuntze. B. puuclnl i. 

 Moench. Ixia chin/'n- 

 sis, Linn. Morxi chi- 

 nenxix, Thunb. Ptirrldn- 

 thiis chinensis, Ker. P. 

 sinensis, Van Houtte). 

 Fig. 534. Height 2-3 

 ft.: rootstock short, 

 stoloniferous Ivs. 

 about 6, equitant, stri- 

 ate, 1-1 '3 ft. long, 1 

 in. broad : outer spathe- 

 valves YT\ in. long: 

 pedicels 1 -2 i n . 1 o n g : 534. Belamcanda chinensis. ( x H) 



535. Bellis perennis. ( X H) 



caps. 1-1 1^ in. long; valves reflexing, persistent. China 

 and Japan. B.M. 171 (as Ixia). F.S. 16:1632. L.B.C. 

 19: 1874. The seed-stalks are sometimes used with 

 dried grasses for decora- 

 tion. It is said that the 

 birds sometimes mistake 

 the seeds for black- 

 berries. N. TAYLOR, f 



BELGAUM WALNUT: 

 Aleurites. 



BELLADONNA: Atropa. 



BELLADONNA LILY: 



Amaryllis. 



BELLFLOWER: Campan- 

 ula. 



BELLIDIASTRUM 



(daisy and star), is now 

 referred to Aster. B. 

 Michellii, Cass. (Aster' 

 BeUididstrum, Scop.), is 

 a small European com- 

 posite, 1 ft., perennial, 

 with white heads single 

 on naked scapes and 

 Ivs. in a rosette, sometimes planted but probably not 

 in Amer. 



BELLIS (Latin, bellus, pretty). CompAsUse. ENG- 

 LISH DAISY. The true daisy: a low perennial with 

 single heads on scapes, planted in borders and edgings 

 and naturalized in grass land. Fig. 535. 



The daisy, as it grows wild in England, has a yel- 

 low center, surrounded by numerous rays in a single 

 row, but the favorite cult, forms are double, the raya 

 rising in tier upon tier, and frequently crowding out 

 every trace of a yellow center. The English daisy is 

 essentially a pink or pinkish fl. in its general effect, the 

 tips of the rays sometimes and the under surfaces 

 usually being pink or red. There are about 10 species in 

 the genus, only one of which is American. B. integrifolia 

 is found in moist soil from Ky. and Tenn. to Ark. and 

 Texas, but is too rare and sectional to become a general 

 favorite. The plant that is most commonly called 

 daisy in Amer. is Chrysanthemum Leucanlhemum. For 

 a list of the various plants known as daisies in Amer 

 see Daisy. 



Daisies are favorite border plants, and are much used 

 in spring bedding, especially for edging. They thrive 

 in a cool soil and moist atmosphere, and are, therefore, 

 much better adapted to English than American gar- 

 dens. They can be grown, however, in a cool green- 

 house where they will flower profusely during February 

 and March. Although the English daisy is a perennial 

 it can be very easily grown as an annual. A light 

 mulch is desirable for winter protection. In home 

 gardening, the plants, after flowering, are divided into 

 single crowns. These are planted about 6 inches apart in 

 good rich garden soil. Each crown soon sends out side 

 growths, which, in time, form new crowns. Before 

 winter sets in the young clumps can be moved readily 

 to any place in the garden in which they are wanted to 

 b oom. Daisies are also forced by florists for winter 

 bloom. When daisies are desired for edging spring 

 flower-beds, the clumps are divided into single plants 

 during the previous September, or early enough to 

 allow the new plants to get a firm hold before winter, 

 and are placed 3 inches apart in a narrow trench. These 

 edgings must be renewed each year, as the plants, if 

 they grow well, spread too wide, or irregularly. In dry 

 summers many roots fail, and if they remain in the 

 same spot year after year, the flowers will degenerate to 

 the single condition. 



r J h j e sim P Iest wav of propagating and growing Eng- 

 lish daisies for spring bedding in this country is to 



