BUSSU OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 69 



Bunt. {See Smut.) 



Bunya Bunya. {See Araucaria.) 



Burdock {Arctium Lap]3a), a large rough-leaved perennial 

 of tlie Composite family (Compositse), common in this country, 

 growing on roadsides and waste places ; it is a troublesome 

 weed in cultivated grounds. It has no special properties, but is 

 interesting for its sj)iny flower-heads, the burs adhering to 

 clothes, and affording a source to schoolboys and others of 

 playing practical jokes. 



Burgundy Pitch. {See Spruce Fir.) 



Burnet {Poterium [Sctnguisorla\ offieincde), a perennial herb 

 with winged leaves, belonging to the Burnet family (Sanguisor- 

 bacese), producing branching flower-stems 3 feet high, and bearing 

 oblong heads of reddish flowers. A small-sized variety is called 

 the Lesser Burnet ; they are natives of this country, and are grown 

 in gardens for their leaves, wliich are used in soups, salads, and 

 for cooling drinks. 



Burweed {Xantliium spinosum), a rude-growing rough-leaved 

 annual of the Composite family (Compositse), native of Southern 

 Europe ; it has been introduced into the Cape of Good Hope, 

 and has become a serious evil to the sheep farmers by its 

 prickles becoming fixed in the wool of the sheep. An Act has 

 been passed by the Cape Parliament for its extirpation. In the 

 United States Xantliium strumarium is in its young state often 

 eaten by cattle ; its effect is to paralyse the heart, inducing 

 torpor without pain or struggle. 



Bush Apple, a name in Australia for the fruit of Acliras 

 australis, a small tree of the Star Apple family (Sapotacese), 

 native of extra-tropical Australia. 



Bussu. — This is a name given by the Indians to Manicaria 

 saccifera, a palm, native of the swamps of the Orinoco, also 

 found in Trinidad. It is one of the few palms with entire 

 leaves. The stem is stout and generally crooked, attaining the 

 height of 15 or more feet, the leaves which rise from its 

 summit being 20 to 30 feet in length and 4 to 5 in width; when 

 old the tops become split and ragged, but are stiff and stand 



