BOTANY 



BOUGAINVILLEA 



533 



horticulture, as amelioration of plants by domestica- 

 tion, hybridizing, and the like. Horticulture is a part 

 of the large conception of botany, so far as its scien- 

 tific aspects are concerned. 



BOTRYCHIUM (Greek, in allusion to the grape-like 

 sporangia). Ophioglossacese. A genus of mostly tem- 

 perate plants allied to ferns, with fleshy roots, short 

 underground sts., each of which bears a single free- 

 veined If., consisting of a short petiole, a usually tri- 

 angular, divided blade, and a single erect panicle bear- 

 ing the fleshy sporangia. 



These plants may be grown in the hardy border, or 

 against a building on the shady side. They require no 

 special treatment. They are little cultivated, but are 

 of interest to the collector or fancier. 



A. Petiole as long as the fertile portion. 

 virginianum, Swart z. MOONWORT. Six in. to 2 ft. 

 high, with a broad, triangular blade, with 3 main tri- 

 quadii-pinnatifid divisions: fertile portion long-stalked. 

 E. I 7 . S. The only species large enough to make a 

 display. 



AA. Petiole much shorter than fertile portion. 



obliquum, Muhl. Fig. 604. Plant, 6-15 in. high, with 

 a ternate blade 2-6 in. wide: segms. obliquely ovate or 

 oblong, Ji-? 4 in. long: fertile part long-stalked. (B. 

 tirniiluin, Authors, not Swartz, which latter is a dif- 

 ferent Japanese species.) E. U. S. 



dissectum, Spreng. Plant, 6-18 in. high, with a ter- 

 nate, finely dissected blade, 3-8 in. wide, the ultimate 

 divisions roin. or less wide. E. U. S. Evergreen; deli- 

 cate and graceful. Grows in woods and meadows. 



R. C. BENEDICT. 



BOTTLE-BRUSH: Metrnsideros; also Callistemon and Mela- 



lutca. 



BOTTOM HEAT. Soil temperature that is higher 

 than that of the superincumbent air. Most tender 

 plants require to have the roots warmer than the tops, 

 particularly when grown under glass. 



BOUGAINVILLEA (De Bougainville, 1729-1811, a 

 French navigator). Xyctaginacese. South American 

 shrubs, often climbers, with very gaudy large bracts, 

 grown under glass, and as arbor plants South. 



Loaves alternate, petioled, entire: fls. small and incon- 

 spicuous, tubular, the margin 5-6-lobed; stamens, 7-8, 

 on unequal capillary filaments; ovary stipitate. The 

 email and inconspicuous fls. are inclosed with large and 

 showy magenta-purple or red bracts that constitute 

 the decorative value of the plants. Two more or less 

 M-indent species are chiefly known in cult. Less than a 

 dozen recognized species. 



The bougainvilleas have been much grown of late as 

 pot-plants. The young stock (started from cuttings) 

 may be grown in the field and be lifted in early autumn ; 

 this will produce plants for spring bloom but not for 

 early flowering. For earlier bloom, the plants may be 

 carried through the summer in pots. Half-ripened or 

 old wood, in 6- to 12-inch lengths, may be used for 

 cuttings in April to June. The subsequent culture is 

 simple. For glasshouse work the plants may be kept 

 cut back and the branches trained. In California, 

 Florida, and other southern regions, bougainvilleas are 

 plentifully used as porch-covers, where they make a 

 most brilliant show. Not hardy. 



The cultural requirements of the bougainvilleas are of 

 the easiest. They thrive in almost any kind of soil and 

 should be grown in full sunshine. B. glabra and its 

 varieties are the best for ordinary purposes, as they 

 bloom when small, and thrive readily in a cool green- 

 house or in the open where free from frost. H. K/ifctn- 

 liilia and its var. luttrilia require more tropical condi- 

 tions and reach large dimensions. All are readily prop- 

 agated, and will root in a few weeks from cuttings of 



the young shoots a few inches in length and placed in 

 sandy soil in bottom heat and moisture at a temperature 

 of 65 or 70 F. B. glabra and its varieties make most 

 excellent pot-plants, either as large or small specimens. 

 They are also valuable for summer bedding. All the 

 kinds make very desirable subjects for clothing ver- 

 andas, arches and pergolas or for planting at the base 



605. Bougainvillea glabra. ( X ! 2) 



of trees (where the climate is suitable for outdoor cul- 

 ture), which they will rapidly clothe in a mass of most 

 beautiful and highly colored flower-bracts. Another 

 and most effective purpose to which these plants can 

 be put is that of hedge or fence plants in tropical and 

 subtropical countries. They stand drought exceed- 

 ingly well and may be pruned with impunity. (C. P. 

 Raffill.) 



glabra, Choisy. Fig. 605. Grows 10 and more ft. high 

 and wide, when planted in the ground and allowed to have 

 its way; glabrous: Ivs. ovate and acuminate, glabrous 

 and bright green: bracts cordate-ovate, bright rosy red, 

 distinctly veined. Brazil. G.C. III. 23:168; 30: 

 265. Gn. 54, p. 257; 64, p. 353. R.H. 1889:276. A.G. 

 16:15. A.F. 11:1371. F.E. 10:106 Free-flowering and 

 handsome; often grown in pots and kept dwarf. Var. 

 Sanderiana, Hort. Very floriferous, blooming even in 

 very small pots. Gn. 45:418. A.F. 10:307; 11:977; 

 12:1185. Gng. 4:281; 5:345. G. 27:457. A very 

 worthy plant both for pot culture or as a shrub or 

 climber. Often blooms when 1 ft. high, but reaches a 

 height of 10-20 ft. Var. Cypheri, Hort, A much 

 larger and finer plant than the type; the large and 

 bright-colored deep rose bracts are freely produced in 

 long plumose clusters on all the principal growths, and 

 are more highly colored than those of the var. San- 

 deriana. It may be treated the same as var. Sanderiana 

 as to cult. It is an acquisition as a decorative plant. 

 Var. variegftta, Hort. Lvs. prettily variegated with 

 creamy white; useful as a neat and quick-growing 

 foliage plant for summer bedding. 



spectabilis, Willd. (B. specidsa, Lindl. B. splendens, 

 Hort.). Taller and stricter, with larger and thicker Ivs., 

 hairy: fls. in large panicles; bracts larger, deep rose- 

 color, but varying to purple and greenish. Brazil. B.M. 

 4810,4811. P.M. 12:51. I.H. 42:30 An immense and 

 strong-growing climber, rising by means of numerous 

 stout hooked spines Variable; known also as B. 



