BRA 



13 R O 



plant in form or colour ; the floral leaf. 

 Bracteee vary greatly in appearance ; most 

 commonly they are green and herbaceous. 

 The leaf, in the axilla of which a flower- 

 bud is produced, is called a bractea. The 

 most remarkable sort of bractea is that 

 called spathe ; the spathe or bractea of 

 many flowers is membranous. When two 

 or more bractese, instead of appearing 

 singly on the principal flower-stalk, are 

 opposite, or verticillate, they form an 

 involucrum. 



BRA'CHIAL. (from brachium, an arm, Lat. 

 brachial, Fr. del braccio, It.) Belonging 

 to the arm. 



BRA'CHIATE. (brachiatus, Lat.) Four- 

 ranked ; applied to stems, when they 

 divide and spread in four directions, 

 crossing each other. 



BRANCHI'FERA. In the conchological sys- 

 tem of De Blainville, we find branchifera 

 placed in the order Cervicobranchiata, and 

 it comprises three genera, namely, Fis- 

 surella, Emarginula, and Parmophorus. 



BRACHIO'PODA. (from jSpa^iW, an arm, 

 and TTO;, afoot, Gr.) Animals having 

 arms instead of feet. The brachiopoda 

 are all bivlaves. The brachiopoda, as 

 placed by Cuvier, form his fifth class of 

 Mollusca ; like the acephala, they have 

 an open bilobcd mantle. Instead of feet, 

 the brachiopoda have two fleshy arms, 

 which are furnished with numerous fila- 

 ments, which they have the power of 

 thrusting out of or drawing into their shell 

 at pleasure. This class, or family, com- 

 prises three genera, Orbicula, Terebra- 

 tula, and Lingula. Lamarck places bra- 

 chiopoda in the order Monomyaria. 



BRACHIO'PODOUS. Having arms in the 

 place of feet and legs ; belonging to the 

 class Brachiopoda. 



BRADY'PODA. Slow-moving animals, with 

 their bodies generally covered by a hard 

 crust. Some want the incisor teeth ; 

 others want the incisors and cuspidati ; 

 in others, the jaws are destitute of teeth. 

 Placed by Linnaeus in the class Mam- 

 malia, and composing the third order. 

 The order Bradypoda includes the genera 

 Bradypus, or Sloth, Mermecophaga, 

 Ant-eaters, Manis, Scaly Lizard or Ban - 

 golin, Dasypus, Armadillo, Ornithorrhyn- 

 chus. Duck-billed animal. 



BRA'DYPUS. (ppadvirovg, Gr.) The sloth, 

 a genus of the order Bradypoda, class 

 Mammalia. These animals have no fore- 

 teeth ; they have six grinders in either 

 jaw ; and their bodies are covered with 

 hair. There are several species. 



BRA'NCHIA. (from /3payx ta > Gr.) This 

 word is rarely used substantively ; it 

 makes branchiae in the plural. Branchiae 

 are filamentous organs for breathing in 

 water ; gills. 



BRANCHIO'PODA. (from /3pay%ta, and 

 TTOVQ, Gr. ) An order of crustaceans, 

 mostly microscopic, and many monocu- 

 lous. The order contains only one genus, 

 monoculus, having either but one eye, or 

 two so closely placed as to appear but 

 one. 



BRANCHIO'PODOUS. Gill-footed ; belonging 

 to the order Branchiopoda. 



BRAXCHIO'STEGI. (from /3oa'yx<a, gills, 

 and oreyoc, or oreyjj, a covering) A 

 term used to express one of the orders of 

 fishes, the characters of which are, that 

 the rays of the fins are of a bony sub- 

 stance. 



BRANCHIO'STEGOUS. Having the charac- 

 ters of the branchiostegi ; belonging to 

 the order Branchiostegi ; having the gills 

 covered. 



BRA'NCHIPUS. The cancer stagnalis of 

 Linnaeus ; an animal belonging to the 

 crustaceans, having the legs reduced to 

 soft paddles, and combining the func- 

 tions of respiration with those of locomo- 

 tion. In the branchipus, we find at- 

 tennse, but no crustaceous legs. The 

 soft branchiae of branchipus perform the 

 double office of lungs and feet. 



BRAU'NITE. (The Brachytypes mangan- 

 erz of Mohs.) A mineral of a brownish 

 black colour, occurring massive and crys- 

 tallized, consisting of protoxide of man- 

 ganese 87 per cent. ; oxygen 10 per 

 cent. ; baryta 2'26 per cent ; and water 

 nearly 1. It has been thus named after 

 Mr. Braun of Gotha. 



BRE'CCIA. (Ital.) Any rock composed of 

 angular fragments cemented together. 



BRE'CCIATED. Composed of angular frag- 

 ments united into a mass by cement. 



BREI'SLAKITE. A Vesuvian mineral, thus 

 named after Breislak. 



BRILLIANT, (brillant, Fr. brillante, It.) 

 A diamond cut into angles, by which the 

 rays of light are refracted, and a greater 

 brilliancy is obtained. 



BRI'MSTONE. A name for sulphur, which 

 see. 



BRI'NDED. In conchology, streaked. 



BRI'NDLED. Spotted ; variegated ; streaked. 



BRI'STOL-STONE. ) Rock-crystal, or crys- 



BRI'STOL-DIAMOND. 5 tallized quartz. Very 

 fine specimens are found in the rocks 

 near Bristol, and these have thence ob- 

 tained the name of Bristol diamonds. 

 They are pure silica, crystallized in six- 

 sided prisms, terminated by six-sided 

 pyramids. 



BRO'ME. \ (from /3poytoc., Gr.) A simple, 



BRO'MINE. \ or elementary substance, being 

 non-metallic. Bromine has obtained its 

 name from its powerful and unpleasant 

 smell. 



BRO'NTIA. (from flpovTi), Gr. thunder ; 

 from its being supposed that these fossils 



