44-: 



BAERIA 



BALSAM 





line 



BA£RIA (after the itnssiaii zoologist, Karl Ernst von 

 Baer'>. Comp6sila\ Small pUmts, one of which is some- 

 times grown as a garden annual. 



Heads usually nian>-tld. , radiate, the rays 5-15; bracts 

 of the invohiere ixs many as rays; 

 pappus often wanting. — Twenty 

 species of Californian annuals 

 (or one or two perennial species), 

 with numerous showy, inch-wide ' 

 yellow fls. in early siunnier. 



gracilis, LJray (liurriclia graci- 

 lis. DC). Easily distinguished 

 from Actinolepsis corotiarin by 

 its hairy sts. and foliage and 

 undividetl Ivs.: plant much 

 brancheti: height 4-12 in.: Ivs. 

 opposite, connate, linear-lanceo- 

 late: fls. solitary, on slender 

 terminal peduncles; involucre 

 leafier than in Actinolepsis coro- 

 naria, the scales longer, downy, 

 in 2 series; rays 8-12. B.M. j 



3758. — This is hkely to be cult. 

 as Laslhenia californica, which, 

 hpwever, is not hairj- and has much longer Ivs. 



B. chrysdstoma, Fisch. & Mey. Lvs. narrowly linear, 1 

 or less wide: fls. larger than in B. gracilis, the heads 3-4 lines 

 high; ligules 3-4 lines long: habit more erect. — B, coronaTia= 

 Actinolepsis coronaria. ^ TaYLOR t 



BAHIA (probably from the port of Bahia, or 

 Pan Salvador, .South .America). CompdsHse. A little- 

 known group of herbaceous perennials or some- 

 times subshrubs grown for their yellow flowers and 

 canescent leaves. 



Leaves mostly opposite, rarely alternate, the 

 rather small pedunculate heads 

 terminating the branches; invo- 

 lucre hemispheric or obovate; 

 receptacle mo.stly flat: achenes 

 narrow, 4-sided; pappus of sev- 

 eral scarious scales. — There are 12 

 species, all American. They thrive ^ 

 on borders of light and well- 

 drained soil, and may be increased 

 by seeds or by division in spring. 



lan^ta, DC. One to 2 ft. high, slender: lvs. pinnately 

 cleft or divided into 3-7 linear or linear-lanceolate lobes: 

 rays mostly 8-9, oblong, showy: achenes glabrous or mi- 

 nutely hairj'. Calif. B.R. 1167 (as Eriophyllum). — Per- 

 haps not hardy in the N. E. Summer. ]Sf. Taylor. 



BAIKXffiA (\Vm. B. Baikie, African traveler). 

 Leguminbsx. Great-flowered Trop. African trees of 2 

 species, one of which has been cult. 

 in Eu. Trees unarmed: lvs. abruptly 

 pinnate, coriaceous: fls. few in each 

 raceme, not pajjilionaceous; petals 5, 

 much exceeding the turbinate calyx, 

 broadly oblanceolate or obovate, long- 

 clawed ; stamens 10. li. insignis, Benth., 

 is an erect evergreen, to 40 ft., with 

 short-lined fls. Klin, acro.ss, snow-white 

 with lower petal or lip lemon-yellow. 

 Upper Guinea. — Said to be the largest 

 flower in the Leguminosse. 



BALAKA (the Fijian vernacular 



name;. /'r//mrirf a, tribe /I rccea>. Palms, 



differing, if at all, from Ptychosperma, 



to whicli they are with equal propriety 



referred, in having the .seed not sulcate, 



and in the half-rhomboid segms. of the 



_^' lvs.; and from Dr>-mophl(i'us in the 



450. Pod o( gar- form of the If. and the caducous spathes. 



den balsam. — Species 2. Fiji Isls. 



449. Balaka Seemannii 



Seemannii, Becc. (Ptijchosperma Sebmannii, H. 

 Wendl.). Balaka. Fig. 449. Caudex slender, 8-12 ft. 

 high, straight, ringed, about 1 in. diam.: lvs. pinnatisect, 

 4 ft. long; segms. erose-dentate at the apex, alternate, 

 9 on each side, semi-rhom- 

 boid, obliquely truncate, the 

 upper margin longer, cuspi- 

 date at the apex, the terminal 

 one deeply bifid. Growing 

 as underwood in dense for- 

 ests. Fiji. — Sts. used for 

 spears by natives, because of 

 their strength and straight- 

 ness. Fig. 449 is adapted from See- 

 man's Flora Vitiensis. N. Taylor, t 



BALLOON VINE: Canliospermum. 



BALM (Melissa officinalis, Linn.). 

 Lahiatse. Lemon Balm and Bee Balm. 

 Sweet herb, the lvs. being used for 

 seasoning, particularly in liquors, and 

 also in medicine. It has a lemon-like 

 flavor. It is a hardy perennial from 

 S. Eu. The plant grows 1-2 ft. high, somewhat 

 hairy, loosely branched, with ovate-petioled, some- 

 times cordate, lvs. and yellowish or whitish fls. in 

 loose axillary clusters. Thrives in any warm posi- 

 tion, and is easy to grow. Prop, by seeds; also by 

 division. Becoming wild in E. U. S. 



BALSAM, Impaliens Balsdmina, Linn. (Balsdm- 

 ina horleusis, DC. Balsdmina Impaliens, Hort. Im- 

 pdtiens cocclnen, Sims, B.M. 12.56). Balsamindceae . 

 An erect, much-branched, half-succulent annual, 

 long ago introduced from India, and now widely 

 cultivated for its showy flowers. 



Plant 132-232 ft.: lvs. lanceo- 

 late, toothed, the lower ones being 

 mostly in pairs: fls. clustered in 

 the axils of the lvs., on very short 

 stalks; sepals and petals similarly 

 colored and not easily distin- 

 guished, one of the sepals (of which 

 there seem to be 3) long-spurred; 

 petals apparently 3, but 2 of them 

 probably represent 2 united petals, 

 thus making 5; stamens 5. The pod, shown in Figs. 

 450 and 451, is explosive. It has 5 carpels and very 

 thin partitions, and seeds borne on axile placenta;. 

 When the caps, are ripe, a pinch or concussion will cause 

 the valves to separate and contract, the seeds being 

 thrown with considerable force. The balsam has varied 

 immensely in the doubling, size and color of its fls. and 

 in the stature of the plant. It was known to Gerarde 

 in 1596. The balsam is sometimes called "lady sUp- 

 per," although this name is properly confined to 

 Cypripedium, and used for Calceolaria. 



Practically all the garden balsams are now double or 

 semi -double. The full -double 

 forms are known as the camellia- 

 flowered varieties. Fig. 452. In 

 well-selected stock, the greater 

 part of the flowers from any 

 batch of seedlings should come 

 very double. The colors range 

 from white to dark blood-red, 

 yellowish and spotted. Balsam.s 

 are of very easy culture. They 

 are tender, and should be started 

 in thumb-pots or boxes indoors, 

 or in the open when danger of 

 frost is past. The seeds are 

 large, and germinate quickly. 

 ']"he plants prefer a rich, sandy 

 loam, and must not suffer for 451. Explosion of 



moisture Transplanting, and balsam pod. 



