BOIMAREA 



BORASSUS 



521 



BB. Umbel compound. 



9 Fh. small. 



Salsilla, Herb. {B. oculata, M. J. Roem. Alstroemiria 



ocuh'ilii, I.odd.). Fig. 590. Lvs. 2-4 in. long, J-^in. 



broad, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, moderately firm, 



glabrous beneath: umbel 4-15-rayed; rays 1-3 in. 



long, 1-3-fld.; bracts 

 small; fls. pink or 

 red, marked with 

 blue and dark pur- 

 ple within. Chile. 

 L.B.C. 19: 1S51. 

 B.M. 3344. 



cc. Fls. large. 

 Carderi, Mast. 

 Lvs. 4-6 in. long, 

 1 ^2-3 in. broad, ob- 

 long, acute: umbel 1 

 ft. long, 6-9-rayed; 

 rays 1-4-fld.; bracts 

 large, leafy; peri- 

 anth-segms. 2 in. 

 long, outer pale 

 pink, spotted brown 

 near the top, inner 

 greenish white, 

 much spotted. F. 

 M. 1876:239. G.C. 

 II. 5:793. 



591. Bombaz malabaricum. (X 



or clustered peduncles, and usually large white or 

 scarlet fls. Specimens are rarely seen in cult, in fine 

 glasshouses, and only 1 of the species appears to be in 

 the American trade. The bark of some species pro- 

 duces commercial fiber such as the Kapok fiber. 



malabaricum, DC. (B. Ce'iba, Burme.). Fig. 591. 

 Large deciduous tree, the branches in whorls, the trunk 



chontalensis, 

 Seem. Lvs. 6-8 in. 

 long, broadl}' lanceolate: umbel very large; rays 4-6- 

 fld.; fls. numerous, 23-^ in. long; outer segms. waxy, 

 wavy margined, rosy red or pink with brown spots, 

 inner ones thinner, pale greenish yellow, spotted. — The 

 largest-fld. species; very effective when well grown. 



Shuttleworthii, Mast. Lvs. 5-6 in. long, oblong, 

 acute, glabrous: umbel 1 ft. long, 5-10-rayed; rays 

 usually 3-fld.; perianth-segms. 2 in. long, outer reddish, 

 inner greenish yellow. Colombian Andes. G.C. II. 

 17:77, 85. — The curious egg-shaped tubers termi- 

 nate unbranched roots, which spring from a rhizome 

 about 1 in. wide. Having no eyes or buds, they cannot 

 be used for propagating. 



AA. Perianth-segms. not eqvuil, the inner longer. 

 B. Umbel simple. 



patacocensis, Herb. (B. conjerla, Benth.) Sts. pur- 

 ple-tinted, pubescent: lvs. 5-6 in. long, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, pubescent beneath: fls. 20-30; outer segms. 13^ in. 

 long, bright red; inner ones 2}^ in. long, bright red, 

 vellow-kceled, with a few spots. Andes of Ecuador 

 knd Colombia. G.C. II. 17:187. B.M. 6692.— When 

 well grown, the umbel is very dense and many-fld. 



Caldasiana, Herb. Lvs. thin, spreading, oblong, 

 acute, distinctly petioled, 3-6 in. long, glaucous, puber- 

 ulent beneath: umbel 6-30-fld.; bracts many, oblong- 

 lanceolate; pedicels 1-2 in. long, pilo.se; outer segms. 

 reddish brown, about 1 in. long, inner Yiin. longer, 

 bright yellow. B.M. 5442 (as Ahlraxcsin Cnldasii). 



BB. Umbel compound. 



vitellina, Mast. Lvs. 3-4 in. long, ovate-oblong: um- 

 bel about 12-rayed; perianth-segms. bright yellow, 

 outer IJi '"■ long, inner 2 in. long; bracts large, leafy. 

 Peruvian Andes. G.C. II. 17:151. 



B. Wcrcklfi, Lcmoine. Lvs. lanceolate, acuminate, briEht green: 

 fls. about 12 in a terminal umbel, vermilion — orange with orange- 

 yellow in.side. Costa Hica. i^j t Pf^cp + 



BOMBAX (a Greek n.ame for raw silk, alluding to the 

 cottony contents of the pods). Bombacacex. Silk 

 Cotton Tree. A genus of 50 species of tropical shrubs 

 and trees, with digitate 5-9-foliolate lvs., 1-fld. axillary 



592. Borage — Borago officinalis. ( X H) 



and branches spiny: lvs. 5-7-foliolate, palmate, the Ifts. 

 entire, cuspidate: fls. 6-7 in. long, clustered near the 

 ends of the branches, red or scarlet, sometimes white: 

 fr. a 5-valved caps., silky. India. — A very showy plant, 

 excellent for warmhouse, but tender. Intro, in U. S. 

 by Royal Palm Nurseiies in 1912. N. Taylor. 



BONESET: Eu-patorium perfoUatum. 



BOOKS: Literature. 



593. Borassus flabellifer. 



BORAGE (Borago officin&lis, 

 Linn.). Fig. 592. Boragindcese. A 

 coarse annual plant grown for 

 culinary use in some parts of Eu., 

 as in Germany. Used as a pot- 

 ^ herb and sometimes with salads. 

 Only the young lvs. are palatable. 

 Mostly known in this country as 

 a bee-plant and for its handsome 

 blue or purplish racemed fls. It 

 is a hairy plant, l}'2-2 ft. high, 

 with oval or oblong lvs. Eu., N. 

 Afr. Eng. Bot. 1:36. Borago laxi- 

 flbra DC., is a small, decumbent 

 alpine, but of easy cult., offered in 

 the trade. It h.as alternate, ovate 

 lvs., hairy throughout, and pretty, 

 long-peduncled, purple or violet 

 fls. Corsica. B.M. 1798.— Little 

 known in Amer. N. TAYLOR.f 



BORASSUS (an old name, of 

 no significance here). Palmacese, 

 tribe Borassinse. Tall unarmed 

 palms, with ringed trunks. 



Leaves large, palmately flabelli- 

 form; plicate sheath short; petiole 

 spiny; ligule .short rigid: fls. small, 

 densely packed in pits on the cat- 

 kin-like branches of a spathe which 

 comes out between the lvs.; sta- 

 mens 6.: fr. large, subglobose, 

 brown. — Species 1. Trop. Afr. For 

 cult., see Lalania. The seeds are 



