BOM A RE A 



BORASSUS 



521 



591. Bombax malabaricum. ( X ,'e) 



BB. Umbel compound. 



C Fls. small. 



Salsflla, Herb. (B. oculdta, M. J. Room. Alslraemeria 

 onMta, Lodd.). Fig. 590. Lvs. 2-4 in. long, ^in. 

 broad, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, moderately firm, 

 glabrous beneath: umbel 4-15-rayed; rays 1-3 in. 



long, 1-3-fld.j bracts 

 small; fls. pink or 

 red, marked with 

 blue and dark pur- 

 ple within. Chile. 

 L.B.C. 19: 1851. 

 B.M. 3344. 



cc. Fls. large. 

 Carderi, 'Mast. 



Lvs. 4-6 in. long, 

 .-3 in. broad, ob- 

 long, acute: umbel 1 



ft. long, 6-9-rayed; 



rays 1-4-fld.; bracts 

 large, leafy; peri- 

 anth-segms. 2 in. 



long, outer pale 



pink, spotted brown 



near the top, inner 



greenish white, 



much spotted. F. 



M. 1876: 239. G.C. 



II. 5:793. 

 chontalensis, 



Seem. Lvs. 6-8 in. 



long, broadly lanceolate: umbel very large; rays 4-6- 

 fld.; fls. numerous, 2}4 i- long; outer segms. waxy, 

 wavy margined, rosy red or pink with brown spots, 

 inner ones thinner, pale greenish yellow, spotted. The 

 largest-fld. species; very effective when well grown. 



Shuttleworthii, Mast. Lvs. 5-6 in. long, oblong, 

 acute, glabrous: umbel 1 ft. long, 5-10-rayed; rays 

 usually 3-fld.; perianth-segms, 2 in. long, outer reddish, 

 inner greenish yellow. Colombian Andes. G.C. II. 

 17:77, 85. The curious egg-shaped tubers termi- 

 nate unbranched roots, which spring from a rhizome 

 about 1 in. wide. Having no eyes or buds, they cannot 

 be used for propagating. 



AA. Perianth-segms. not equal, the inner longer. 

 B. Umbel simple. 



patacocensis, Herb. (B. conferta, Benth.). Sts. pur- 

 ple-tinted, pubescent: Ivs. 5-6 in. long, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, pubescent beneath: fls. 20-30; outer segms. IJ-^in. 

 long, bright red; inner ones 2}^ in. long, bright red, 

 yellow-keeled, with a few spots. Andes of Ecuador 

 and Colombia. G.C. II. 17:187. B.M. 6692. When 

 well grown, the umbel is very dense and many-fld. 



Caldasiana, Herb. Lvs. thin, spreading, oblong, 

 acute, distinctly petioled, 3-6 in. long, glaucous, pubcr- 

 ulent beneath: umbel 6-30-fld.; bracts many, oblong- 

 lanceolate; pedicels 1-2 in. long, pilose; outer segms. 

 reddish brown, about 1 in. long, inner J^in. longer, 

 bright yellow. B.M. 5442 (as Alstranesia Cnldasii). 



BB. Umbel compound. 



vitellina, Mast. Lvs. 3-4 in. long, ovate-oblong: um- 

 bel about 12-rayed; perianth-segms. bright yellow, 

 outer \ l /2 ' n - l n f> inner 2 in. long; bracts large, leafy. 

 Peruvian Andes. G.C. II. 17:151. 



B. Wercklei, Lemoine. Lvs. lanceolate, acuminate, bright green: 

 fls. about 12 in a terminal umbel, vermilion orange with orange- 

 yellow inside. Costa Rica. j^ j "RngE t 



BOMBAX (a Greek name for raw silk, alluding to the 

 cottony contents of the pods). Bombacacex. SILK 

 COTTON TREE. A genus of 50 species of tropical shrubs 

 and trees, with digitate 5-9-foliolate Ivs., 1-fld. axillary 593. Borassus flabellifer. 



or clustered peduncles, and usually large white or 

 scarlet fls. Specimens are rarely seen in cult, in fine 

 glasshouses, and only 1 of the species appears to be in 

 the American trade. The bark of some species pro- 

 duces commercial fiber such as the Kapok fiber. 



malabaricum, DC. (B. Ceiba, Burme.). Fig. 591. 

 Large deciduous tree, the branches in whorls, the trunk 



592. Borage Borago officinalis. ( X M) 



and branches spiny: Ivs. 5-7-foliolate, palmate, the Ifts. 

 entire, cuspidate: fls. 6-7 in. long, clustered near the 

 ends of the branches, red or scarlet, sometimes white: 

 fr. a 5-vaJved caps., silky. India. A very showy plant, 

 excellent for warmhouse, but tender. Intro, in U. S. 

 by Royal Palm Nurseiies in 1912. N. TAYIX>R. 



BONESET: Eupalorium perfoliatvm. 



BOOKS: Literature. 



BORAGE (Borago officinalis, 

 Linn.). Fig. 592. Boraginacex. A 

 coarse annual plant grown for 

 culinary use in some parts of Eu., 

 as in Germany. Used as a pot- 

 herb and sometimes with .salads. 

 Only the young Ivs. are palatable. 

 Mostly known in this country as 

 a bee-plant and for its handsome 

 blue or purplish racemed fls. It 

 is a hairy plant, l]^-2 ft. high, 

 with oval or oblong Ivs. Eu., N. 

 Afr. Eng. Bot. 1:36. Borago laxi- 

 flbra DC., is a small, decumbent 

 alpine, but of easy cult., offered in 

 the trade. It has alternate, ovate 

 Ivs., hairy throughout, and pretty, 

 long-peduncled, purple or violet 

 fls. Corsica. B.M. 1798. Little 

 known in Amer. 



BORASSUS (an old name, of 

 no significance here). Palmacex, 

 tribe Bordssinse. Tall unarmed 

 palms, with ringed trunks. 



Leaves large, palmately flabelli- 

 form; plicate sheath short; petiole 

 spiny; ligule short rigid: fls. small, 

 densely packed in pits on the cat- 

 kin-like branches of a spathe which 

 comes out between the Ivs.; sta- 

 mens 6.: fr. large, subglobose, 

 brown. Species 1. Trop. Afr. For 

 cult., see Latania. The seeds are 



