496 



BESCHORNERIA 



BETULA 



ovate bracts, green, fading to yellow, pubescent. G.C. 

 III. 40:350. 



B. arffyrophylla, Hort.=B. Dekosteriana. B. califdmica ia a 

 nomen nudum. B. suptrba, Hort. and B. viridifldra, Hort.=B. 



yuccoides. 

 G. \V. OLIVER. 

 L. H. B.f 



BESLfiRIA 



(after Basil Bes- 

 ler, Nuremberg 

 apothecary, and 

 reputed author 

 of the superb 

 Hortus Eystet- 

 tensis, 1613). 

 Gesneracex. A 

 genus of 50 species of 

 Trop. American plants, 

 mostly subshrubs, with 

 somewhat 4 -angled 

 sts., large, membrana- 

 ceous, opposite, petio- 

 late Ivs. prominently 

 veined beneath, and 

 yellow, white or purple 

 fls. : calyx campanu- 

 late, at length globose, 

 shortly 5-toothed; cor- 

 olla tubular. B. Imray 

 is herbaceous, with ser- 

 rate Ivs. and yellow 

 axillary fls. B.M.6341. 

 Prop, by cuttings over 

 bottom heat. None is 

 known to be offered in 

 Amer. 



545. Bessera elegans. Ifitea, Linn. St. 6-10 



ft., glabrous or nearly 



so : Ivs. elliptic or elliptic-oblong : calyx about half as long 

 as the yellow slightly gibbous corolla. Trop. Amer. 



N. TAYLOR.! 



BfiSSERA (after Dr. Besser, professor of botany at 

 Brody). Lilwcex. MEXICAN CORAL DROPS. An ex- 

 ceedingly pretty summer-flowering bulbous squill-like 

 plant. 



Umbels pendulous; fls. vermilion outside, with a 

 white corona or cup within, and long, purple stamens; 

 perianth cup-shaped, the tube shorter than the oblong- 

 lanceolate segms. ; stamens 6. A monotypic genus 

 allied to Androstephium. Culture simple. Bulbs 

 planted out, and lifted when ripe. May be prop, by 

 offsets. 



elegans, Schult. f. Fig. 545. Bulb globular, 1 in. 

 thick, tunicated: Ivs. 2-3, about 10-12 in., or even 2 ft., 

 long: scape 1-2 ft. long, hollow, fragile; umbels 4-10- 

 fld.; pedicels 1-1 ^ in. long; perianth 9-10 lines long, 

 keeled on the back, variously marked with white 

 within, but usually with vermilion margins and 

 center-band; fls. borne through two months of 

 late summer and early autumn. G.F. 4:125 

 (adapted in Fig. 545). Gn. 25:42. B.R. 1546 

 (as Pharium fistulosum); 25:34. F.S. 4:424 (as 

 B, miniatum). Strong bulbs sometimes throw 

 up 6-10 scapes, with 12-20-fld. umbels. 



WILHELM MILLER. 



BETA (ancient name). Chenopodiacex. BEET- 

 ROOT. BEET. Annuals in cultivation, or bien- 

 nials by the wintering of the roots, grown for 

 the thick edible roots, edible leaves, and orna- 

 mental foliage. 



Glabrous, mostly thick-rooted herbs, with 

 alternate, entire or sinuate Ivs.: fls. perfect, 

 bracted; perianth urn-shaped, 5-lobed, adhering 

 at base to the ovary, becoming hardened in fr.; 



stamens 5 on a fleshy ring or disk; ovary partly inferior, 

 in fr. covered by the withered and corky remains of 

 the perianth; the fls. usually stand 2 or more together 

 and cohere into a "seed" or "ball" that is more than 

 1-seeded. The species of Beta are much confused, but 

 probably all of them can be referred to a half-dozen 

 species. Eu., N. Afr., Asia. 



vulgaris, Linn. (B. maritima, Linn.). The supposed 

 source of the cult, beets and foliage beets. Probably a 

 development from the perennial beet of the eo: 

 parts of Eu., a much-branched decumbent plant (Fig. 

 546), with thick, long and hard (not really fleshy) 

 perennial roots. In cult, forms, the plant is erect in 

 fls. and fr., with greenish clustered fls., and ovate- 

 oblong, smooth, more or less thick and wavy-margined 

 Ivs. There are 3 main races of the cult, beet-plant : 



Var. crassa, Alef. BEET-ROOT. BEET of American 

 gardens and fields, characterized by its thickened root 

 of many forms, some of which are developed for their 

 sugar-producing qualities. See Beet. 



Var. cruenta, Alef. (B. hortensis and B. riibra, Hort.). 

 RED and VICTORIA foliage beets. Root not highly 

 developed: Ivs. large and showy, red or green, with yel- 

 low ribs. Var. metdllica is a form of this. In many bril- 

 liant forms, often used in bedding and for strong color 

 effects. 



Var. Cfcla, Moq. (B. Cida, Linn. B. brasiliensis and 

 B. chilensis, Hort.). LEAF-BEET. SICILIAN BEET. 

 SEA-KALE BEET. SPINACH BEET. CHILIAN BEET. 

 ROMAN KALE. POIREI. Root small and branched, not 

 thick or fleshy: Ivs. very large, thick-ribbed, green, 

 yellow-green, reddish green or even red, often with very 

 wide and thick petioles. Used as a pot-herb. Differs 

 widely in the coloration of the If.-ribs, and shape and 

 development of If.-blade. One form of it is Chard 

 (which see). L jj jj. 



BETEL, or BETLE. The leaf of Piper Belle, a kind 

 of pepper used in wrapping the pellets of betel-nut and 

 lime which are commonly chewed in the Orient. The 

 pellets are hot, acrid, aromatic, astringent. They 

 redden the saliva and blacken the teeth, and event- 

 ually corrode them. The betel-nut is the fruit of Areca 

 Catechu, a palm. See pp. 16 and 24. 



BET6NICA and BETONY: Stachys. 



BETULA (ancient Latin name). Belulacex, BIRCH. 

 Ornamental deciduous woody plants grown chiefly for 

 their bright green handsome foliage. Page 3566. 



Trees or shrubs: winter-buds usually conspicuous, 

 sessile, with several imbricate scales: Ivs. alternate, 

 petioled, serrate or crcnate: fls. monoscious, apetalous, 

 in catkins, staminate formed in autumn and remaining 

 naked during the winter, every scale bearing 3 fls., each 

 with a minute 4-toothed calyx and with 2 stamens 

 divided at the apex; pistillate catkins oblong or cylin- 

 drical, bearing 3 naked ovaries in the axil of every scale 



Beta. The wild perennial form of the beet plant as it grows on 

 the coasts of England. 



