494 



BERGEROCACTUS 



bearing many yellow spines: corolla short, funnel- 

 shaped, greenish yellow: fr. globose, densely spiny. A 

 single species known. 



Emoryi, Brit. & Rose (Cereus Emoryi, Engelm.). 

 Prostrate or ascending, 6-10 in. high, 1-2 in. diam., 

 often forming thick masses 10-20 ft. in diam. : fls. 1-2 

 in. broad: fr. 1-1}^ in. diam. On mainland and isls. 

 of S. Calif., and N. Low. Calif. This species, native 

 of Calif., can easily be grown in the open in the south- 

 ern part of that state. It forms large masses and care 

 must be taken that it does not preempt more than 

 its share of the garden. The species has long been in 

 the trade, but it does not do well in the greenhouse, and 

 it is hardly to be recommended for the small collection. 

 Its slender sts., covered with striking yellow spines, are 

 very unlike any of our other cereus-like plants. 



J. N. ROSE. 



BERMUDA GRASS: Cynodon dactylon. 



BERRIA (after Dr. Andrew Berry, a Madras 

 botanist). Syn., Berrya, DC., not Klein. Tiliacex. 

 A timber tree of India, which has been sparingly 

 introduced into this country. One species. 



Ammonflla, Roxbg. High tree: Ivs. entire, heart- 

 shaped, long-petioled, smooth, 5-7-nerved, alter- 

 nate: fls. in. racemes, small, white, very numerous: 

 fr. a 3-celled caps, with 6 wings, the 3-12 seeds 

 with stiff hairs, which readily penetrate the skin 

 and produce a painful itching. Grows abundantly 

 in British India, Ceylon, the Malay Archipelago, and 

 the Philippines. The wood is smooth-grained, yellow, 

 with dark red heart; used for house-building, agricul- 

 tural implements, oil-casks, boats, and the like. Ex- 

 ported as "trincomalee wood." Q. x. HASTINGS 



BERSAMA (Abyssinian name). Sapind&cex. Trop. 

 and S. African trees and shrubs, of perhaps a half-dozen 

 species, probably not cult. Lvs. alternate, odd-pinnate; 

 Ifts. entire or serrate: fls. silky, white, of 5 sepals and 

 5 unequal clawed petals. B. usambarcnsis, Guerke, a 

 recently described species from German E. Afr., has 

 been discussed in horticultural journals: tree, 50 ft.: 

 Ivs. more than 2 ft. long, with winged rachis, the Ifts. 

 oblong-lanceolate and somewhat cut, prickly-margined. 



BERTHOLLETIA (after Louis Claude Berthollet, 

 French chemist). Myrtacex. BRAZIL-NUT. BUTTER- 

 NUT. PARA-NUT. CREAM-NUT. NIGGER-TOE. Large 



trees: Ivs. alter- 

 nate, bright green, 

 leathery, about, 2 

 ft. long, 6 in. broad: 

 fls. cream -colored; 

 calyx parts united 

 and tearing into 2 

 parts when the 

 flower opens; petals 

 6; stamens many, 

 united into a hood- 

 shaped mass, the 

 upper ones sterile: 

 fr. round, about 6 

 in. diam., with a 

 hard shell contain- 

 ing 18-24 3-sided 

 nuts (Fig. 543). 

 Species several, all 



ix W furnishing Brazil 



nuts and usually 



described as B. excelsa. The common trade name is Cas- 

 tanea, the name of the genus including the chestnuts. 

 excelsa, Humb. & Bonpl. Fig. 543. A tree 100-150 

 ft. with a smooth trunk 3-4 ft. in diam.: branches 

 near the top. It forms large forests on the banks of the 

 Amazon and Rio Negro. The natives gather the nuts 

 in large quantities, chopping the fr. open. They are 



543. Bertholletia ercelsa. Cross-sec- 

 tion of husks, showing Brazil-nuts. 



BERTOLONIA 



exported in large quantities, chiefly from Para. An oil 

 is expressed from the kernels, and the bark is used at 

 Para for caulking ships. The tree is of little value for 

 decorative purposes, and, is too tender for growth any- 

 where in the U. S. G T HASTINGS.' 



BERTOLONIA (after A. Bertolini, Italian botanist). 

 Melastomacex. Excellent warmhouse foliage plants 

 from Brazil. 



Always dwarf, and sometimes creeping; the garden 

 forms with membranaceous, 5-11-nerved Ivs. 5-8 in. 



544. Bertolonia marmorata. 



long, and purple beneath: fls. white, purple or rose- 

 colored, 5-petaled, in scorpipid racemes or spikes. There 

 are only 9 species, 5 of which were distinguished when 

 the last edition was issued. (A. Coigneaux, in DC. 

 Mon. Phan., Vol. VII.) Some earlier botanists do not 

 separate certain allied genera which usually cannot 

 be distinguished by habit alone. The surest charact er 

 is the inflated and 3-angled or 3-winged calyx of Hertn- 

 lonia. In Bertolonia, fl.-parts are in o's, but the ovary 

 is 3-celled. Gravesia has a 5-celled ovary, and Sonerila 

 is trimerous. In Bertolonia, the connective of the 

 anthers has no appendage; in Salpinga there is a spur 

 below and behind the connective; in Monolena there is 

 a spur in front, and the calyx is not hairy. 



Bertolonias are essentially fanciers' plants. It is 

 somewhat difficult to bring out their true character- 

 istics under ordinary stove treatment, as they require 

 a more humid atmosphere than can usually he main- 

 tained, even in a small house. The additional shelter of 

 a small frame should be provided, where the atmos- 

 pheric conditions will be much more easily regulated. 

 A plentiful supply of water at the roots is necessary; 

 syringing or sprinkling overhead is not advisable. 

 The most convenient method of propagation is by 

 cuttings, which strike readily, in a moderately close 

 propagating-case filled with sharp, clean sand. The 

 pots should be thoroughly clean and drained, and the 

 compost open and porous. They may also be grown 

 from seed. They thrive in dense shade. Old plants are 

 not so brilliant as young ones. (Wm. Scott.) 



Bertolonias and their allies furnish an excellent 

 example of Van Houtte's triumphs in hybridization. 

 The two species described below have probably been 

 important factors in the plant-breeding, and Gravesia 

 guttata even more so. Gravesia is a Madagascar plant, 

 and has, perhaps, been crossed with the Brazilian 

 bertolonias. Unfortunately, the pictures in Flore des 

 Serres show no flowers, and the pedigree is not given. 

 The bertonerilas figured and described in I.H. 43, pp. 

 188 and 189, with colored plates 64 and 68, are pre- 

 sumably hybrids between Bertolonia and Sonerila. 

 Excepting B. maculata and B. marmorata, the following 

 are hybrids: 



A. Veins not lined on both sides with a colored band. 

 marmorata, Naudin. Fig. 544. St. less densely hairy 

 than B. maculata: Ivs. more narrowly ovate, ovate- 



