4% 



BESCHORNERIA 



BETULA 



ovato bracts, green, fading to yellow, pubescent. G.C. 

 111.40:350. 



B. iiravrophillla, Hort.=B. Dckoatcriana. — B. califdmira is n 

 nomen nudum. — B. «upH-ba, Hon. ami B. viri^iiftdra, Hort.=B. 



yuccoides. 



G. W. Oliver. 

 L. 11. IJ.t 



BESLERIA 



(after H:isil Bus- 

 ier, Nuremberg 

 apothprar.\', and 

 reputed author 

 of the superb 

 Hortus Eystet- 

 tensis, 1613). 

 Gc-iiicmcea: A 

 genus of .">0 species of 

 Tro]). .American plants, 

 mostly subshrubs, with 

 somewhat 4 -angled 

 sts., large, membrana- 

 ceous, opposite, petio- 

 late Ivs. prominently 

 veined beneath, and 

 yellow, white or purple 

 fls. : calyx ciunpanu- 

 late, at length globose, 

 shortly .5-toothed; cor- 

 olla tubular. B. imray 

 is herbaceous, with ser- 

 rate Ivs. and vellow 

 axillary fls. B.M;6341. 

 Prop, by cuttings over 

 bottom heat. None is 

 known to be offered in 

 Amer. 



latea, I.inn. St. 6-10 

 ft., glabrous or nearly 

 8o: Ivs. elliptic or ellipt ie-oblong: calyx about half as long 

 as the yellow slightly gibbous corolla. Trop. Amer. 



N. Taylor. t 



B£SS£RA (after Dr. Besser, professor of botany at 

 Brodyi. LUidcevf. Mexican Coral Drops. An ex- 

 ceedingly pretty summer-flowering bulbous squill-like 

 plant. 



I'mbels pendulous; fls. vermilion outside, with a 

 white corona or cup within, and long, purple stamens; 

 perianth cup-shaped, the tube shorter than the oblong- 

 lanceolate segms.; stamens 6. — A monotypic genus 

 allied to Andro.stephium. Culture ' simple. Bulbs 

 planter! out, and lifted when ripe. May be prop, by 

 ofT.scts. 



elegans, Schult. f. Fig. 54.5. Rulb globular, 1 in. 

 thick, tunicatefi: Ivs. 2-3, about 10-12 in., or even 2 ft., 

 long: .scape 1-2 ft. long, hollow, fragile; umbels 4-10- 

 fld.; pedicels 1-1 H in- long; perianth 0-10 lines long, 

 keeled on the back, variously marked with white 

 within, but usually with vermilion margins and 

 center-band; fls. borne through two months of 

 late .summer and early autiunn. G.F. 4:125 

 (arJapted in Fig. .545j. Gn. 2."):42. B.R. 1.546 

 (as rharium fintulomim); 25:34. F.S. 4:424 (as 

 B. miniatum). — ,Strong bulbs sometimes throw 

 up 6-10 scapes, with 12-20-Hd. umbels. 



WiLHELM Miller. 



BETA (ancient name). Chenopodidceai. Beet- 

 Root. Beet. Annuals in cultivation, or hien- 

 niaL- by the wintering of the roots, grown for 

 the thick edible roots, edible leaves, and orna- 

 mental foliage. 



Olabrou.s, mostly thick-rooted herbs, with 

 alternate, entire or sinuate Ivs.: fls. perfect, 

 bracted; f>erianth um-shapefl, .5-lobed, adhering 

 at ba."* to the ovary, becoming hardened in fr.; 



545. Bessera elegans. 



stamens 5 on a fleshy ring or disk; ovary partly inferior, 

 in fr. covered by the withered and corky remains of 

 the perianth; the fls. usually stand 2 or more together 

 and cohere into a "seed" or "ball" that is more than 

 l-seeded. — The species of Beta are much confused, but 

 probably all iiS them can be referred to a half-dozen 

 species. Eu., N. Afr., Asia. 



vulgaris, Linn. (fl. nuirUima, Linn.). The supposed 

 source of the cult, beets and foliage beets. Probably a 

 development from the perennial beet of the coasts in 

 parts of Eu., a much-branched decumbent plant (Fig. 

 5K)), with thick, long and hard (not really fleshy) 

 l)erennial roots. In cult, forms, the plant is erect in 

 fls. and fr., with greenish clustered fls., and ovate- 

 oblong, smooth, more or less thick and wavy-margined 

 Ivs. There are 3 main races of the cult, beet-plant: 



Var. crassa, .\lef. Beet-Root. Beet of American 

 gardens antl fields, characterized by its thickened root 

 of many forms, some of which are developed for their 

 sugar-producing qualities. See Beet. 



Var. cruenta, Alef. {B. hortensis and B. rubra, Hort.). 

 Red and Victoria foliage beets. Root not highly 

 developed: Ivs. large and showy, red or green, with yel- 

 low ribs. Var. metdllica is a form of this. In many bril- 

 liant forms, often used in bedding and for strong color 

 effects. 



Var. Cicla, Moq. {B. Clcla, Linn. B. brasiliensis and 

 B. chilmsis, Hort.). Leaf-Beet. Sicilian Beet. 

 Sea-Kale Beet. Spinach Beet. Chilian Beet. 

 Roman Kale. Poirei. Root small and branched, not 

 thick or fleshy: Ivs. very large, thick-ribbed, green, 

 yellow-green, reddish green or even red, often with very 

 wide and thick petioles. — Used as a pot-herb. Differs 

 widely in the coloration of the If.-ribs, and shape and 

 development of If.-blade. One form of it is Chard 

 (which see). L. ij. B. 



BETEL, or BETLE. The leaf of Piper Betle, a kind 

 of pepper used in wrapping the pellets of betel-nut and 

 lime which are commonly chewed in the Orient. The 

 pellets are hot, acrid, aromatic, astringent. They 

 redden the saliva and blacken the teeth, and event- 

 ually corrode them. The betel-nut is the fruit of Areca 

 Catechu, a palm. See pp. 16 and 24. 



BETONICA and BETONY: Stachys. 



BETULA (ancient Latin name). Betidacex. Birch. 

 Ornamental deciduous woody plants grown chiefly for 

 their bright green handsome foliage. Page 3566. 



Trees or shrubs: winter-buds usually conspicuous, 

 sessile, with several imbricate scales: Ivs. alternate, 

 petioled, serrate or crenate: fls. monwcious, apetalous, 

 in catkins, staminate formed in autumn and remaining 

 naked during the winter, every scale bearing 3 fls., each 

 with a minute 4-toothed calyx and with 2 stamens 

 divided at the apex; pistillate catkins oblong or cyhn- 

 drical, bearing 3 naked ovaries in the axil of every scale 



-v. 





546. 



Beta. The wild perennial form of the beet plant as it grows on 

 the coasts of England. 



