BERTOLONIA 



BESCHORNERIA 



495 



oblong, acute, sparsely hairy, streaked with white along 

 the veins: ealyx sparsely hairy, not glandular; petals 

 somewhat blunter, dilute purple. R.H. 1848:381 (as 

 Eriorncinn mnrmorotn, N.audin). F.S. 7:750 (as B. 

 nidriilnla var. mariuorata, Planch.). Coigneaux recog- 

 nizes 2 varieties, var. genuina, with Ivs. green above, 

 anil banded with white along the veins; var. xnea, 

 (E. aenea and B. xnea, Naudin), witb Ivs. dark green 

 with a coppery cast, but not spotted or only slightly so. 



Mirandas!, Van Houtte. Spots red on the lower Ivs. 

 and white on the upper or younger ones: Ivs. purple 

 beneath. F.S. 21:2235 (1875). 



A.4. Veins lined on both sides with a while or colored band. 

 B. Bands and spots magenta or purple. 



maculata, DC. St. short, decumbent, rooting at the 

 base, densely clothed with rusty hairs: Ivs. long-pet ioled, 

 cordate, broadly ovate, obtuse, hispid abo\-e and at 

 margins, dark velvety green above, often spotted: 

 calyx densely clothed with glandular hairs; petals obo- 

 vace, somewhat acute, rose-colored. B.M. 4551. 



Houtteana, Van Houtte (B. Van Hoidtei, Hort.). 

 Lvs. purple beneath. F.S. 20:2120.— This was a sen- 

 sational plant of 1875, and Van Houtte refused $2,000 

 for his stock of it. 



BB. Bands and spots silvery white. 

 c. Spots very distinct. 



Hrubyana, Van Houtte. This has bars of white con- 

 necting the veins. The under side of the lvs. seems to 

 be green instead of purple, at least toward the tip. 

 F.S. 23:2.381. 



Rodeckiana, Van Houtte. Distinguished from the 

 above and all others of this group by the abundance of 

 dark red color on the upper surface of the lvs. : veins of 

 the Under side prominent and green. F.S. 23:2382. 



cc. Spots very faint. 

 Legrelleana, Van Houtte {B. Legrelle, Hort.). There 

 are a few longitudinal bars, but they do not connect 

 the veins. Referred to Gravesia guttata by Coigneaux. 

 F.S 23:2407. 



Other trade names are B. guttata. Hook. f.=Gravesia guttata. — 

 B. margaritacca. Hort. BuU.^Salpinga margaritacea. — B. primulse- 

 ftdra, Hort.=Monolena primulieflora. — B. pubescens, Hort., with 

 long white hairs, and a chocolate band down the center. Ecuador. 

 — B. pundatiasima. Hort. — B. superbissirmi, Hort. (B. superba?, 

 Hort.). with rose-colored spots, which are larger and brighter near 

 the margin. F.M. 151 (1875). — Probably a variety of Gravesia 



«""'"''• WiLHELM Miller. 



N. TAYLOR.t 



BERTONERILA. A class of handsome foliage plants, 

 presumably hybrids between Bertolonia and Sonerila. 

 Bertonerila is a combination of the names Bertolonia and 

 Sonerila. I. H. Vol. 43 (1896), pp. 188-190. For culture, 

 see Bertolonia. — Rare in this country, perhaps not in 

 cult, outside of a few botanic gardens. Some of the 

 best-known forms are: Madame Cahuzae, Madame de 

 Brezetz and Madame Treyeran. 



BESCHORNERIA (after H. Beschorner, German 

 botanist). AmaryUidacese . Succulent desert plants, al- 

 lied to Bravoa, Fourcroya and Doryanthes, planted far 

 south and in California, and sometimes seen in col- 

 lections under glass in the North. 



Leaves in a rosette, glaucous, roughish at the margins, 

 not so thick, firm or fleshy •a.'-: in .^gave (which hius a 

 strong end-spine and horny marginal prickles): root- 

 stock short, tuberous: fls. accomi>aiiied by showy colored 

 bracts. In Be.schomeria, the perianth is usually reddish 

 green, funnelform but with a very short tube and with 

 long, oblanceolate segms.; in Doryanthes the perianth 

 is bright red, the segms. long, narrowly falcate; in 

 Bravoa the perianth is red or white, the tube curved, 

 sub-cylindrical, and the segms. short. I<>om Fourcroya, 

 to which the genus is closely related, Beschorneria is 



distinguished by its tubular-sha|)ed perianth, long and 

 narrow segms., thin and slender fil.aments, which are 

 only slightly thickened below the middle. The perianth 

 of Fourcroya is campanulate, with spreading, ovoid or 

 elliptic segms., and short thickened filaments; the 

 fourcroyas are larger plants, and without large showy 

 bracts, and often produce bulbils, which Beschorneria 

 never does. 



The species are very closely allied, and difficult to 

 distinguish. The following are the only kinds well 

 known, and they are all from Mexico. If in good con- 

 dition they bloom every year in warm countries from 

 suckers of the previous year, but in the North they are 

 likely to bloom only at long irregular intervals. The 

 species succeed best when treated similarly to agaves, 

 with the exception of the soil, which may be made 

 richer by the addition of crushed bone and a little 

 vegetable-mold. All of the species need greenhouse 

 protection in the northern states. They are hardy in 

 the warmest parts of the British Islands. Useful for 

 bedding as striking fohage subjects. 



tubiflora, Kunth. No st. or trunk: lvs. 12 or more, 

 IJ2-2 ft. long, 1 in. broad, linear, long-acuminate, 

 roughish on both surfaces, tufted, more or less recurved, 

 thickened and triangular at b:tse, minutely striated, 

 glaucous-green: scape 4 ft., terminating in an erect 

 raceme; fls. drooping, 2-4 together, the perianth divided 

 to the top of the ovary, brownish green. B.M. 4642. — 

 The oldest and best-known species. 



Tonelii, Jacobi (B. Toneliana, .Jacobi). Allied to B. 

 tuhiflnra, but with looser habit, much broader foliage, 

 bright red-purple scape and a colored panicle with 

 drooping branches, longer purple and red fls. with more 

 acute segms.: st. or trunk very short: lvs. very glau- 

 cous, roughish beneath and on the margins, 15-20 in 

 niunber, 1-132 ft. long, 2-2 J 2 in. broad, short-acumi- 

 nate, and contracted below the middle into a flat thick 

 petiole 1 in. broad. B.M. 6091. 



Dekosteriana, C. Koch (B. Decosteridna, Baker). 

 Lvs. 15-20 or more, 2-232 ft. long, 2-23^ in. broad, 

 oblanceolate, long-acimiinate, very gradually tapering 

 both ways from the middle, 1-134 in- broad above the 

 base, which is very thick: fls. in a deltoid panicle, green, 

 13^ in. long, cut nearly to base, the ovary protruding. 

 B.M. 6768. 



bracteata, Jacobi. Stemless: lvs. 20-30, 13^-2 ft. 

 long, 2 in. broad, short-acuminate, textiu-e thin but 

 firm, contracted to less than 1 in. wide above the 

 dilated base, glaucous green, scarious or dry on the 

 margin: scape 4-5 ft., the panicle reddish brown; fls. 

 13^2 in. long, segms. free but connivant, green, chang- 

 ing to yellowish red. B.M. 6641. 



yuccoides, Hook. f. St. none, or apparently present 

 by shedding of older lvs. in the rosette: lvs. about 20, 

 1-13 2 ft. long, 2 in. broad, lanceolate, short-acuminate, 

 narrowed to 3'^in. above the base, glaucous green: 

 scape 3-4 ft., with fls. on drooping rod branches in the 

 panicle; fls. about 3 in. long, dark green, tinged j'cllow. 

 B.M. 5203. G.C. III. 46:8, 309, 313.— The lvs. are 

 broader than in A. tubiflora, shorter acuminate, and 

 more boldly narrowed below the middle. 



Wrightii, Hook. f. Allierl to B. Dekosteriana, but fls. 

 pubescent: st. or trunk IS in.: lvs. about 50, densely 

 crowded, spreading or recurved, ensiform, 4-5 ft. long 

 by 2 in. at the middle, the tip narrowed to a long brown 

 stiff point, the b:ise dilatetl and very thick antl bi-con- 

 vex, the margins very narrowly scarious, denticulate; 

 panicle pyramidal, 8 ft.; fls. fascicled, nodding, green- 

 ish, pubescent. B.M. 7779. 



pubescens, Berger. Smaller: lvs. 2 ft. long by 2 in. 

 broad, glaucous, rather stiff and fleshy along the midrib, 

 nearly smooth underneath, rough only near tip, margins 

 finely and deeply denticulate: panicle 4-5 ft., rather 

 slender, the scape bright red; fls. fascicled in axils of 



