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HENDEKSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



BEG 



sist of a single colored perianth, usually 

 pink, which is placed above the ovary or 

 seed vessels. Some flowers have stamens 

 only, and others pistils only. In the for- 

 mer the perianth has from two to four 

 divisions; in the latter from two to eight. 

 The stamens are numerous, and collected 

 in a head. There are three stigmas, and 

 the fruit is winged, and has three divi- 

 siona Soine of the plants produce buds 

 which are easily detached so as to con- 

 stitute new plants. The species are com- 

 mon in the East and West Indies and 

 South America; and a few are found in 

 Madagascar and South Africa. They are 

 said to possess bitter and astringent 

 qualities. According to Klotzsch, the or- 

 der contains forty-two genera and nearly 

 four hundred species. The following 

 gene,ra illustrate the order: JBursa, Bego- 

 nia, Diploclinium, Ewaldia, Mezieria, and 

 Gireondia. De Candolle admits only 

 Casparya and Mezieria of Klotzsch's gen- 

 era, referred to above, retaining about 

 three hundred and fifty species in Bego- 

 nia proper, distinguishing them by cer- 

 tain peculiarities of the placenta and the 

 capsules. 

 Begoniads. The English term for Begonia- 



cece. 



Bell Glass. Bell Glasses were formerly ex- 

 tensively used in propagating the more 

 difficult kinds of woody plants, but are 

 now rarely used unless to cover circular 

 Ferneries or some delicate plants like the 

 AnoBctochilus. They vary in size from 

 eight to twenty inches in height, and 

 from six to fifteen inches in diameter. 

 See Hand Glass. 



Bell-shaped. Having a tubular and inflated 

 form, so as to resemble a bell, as in Cam- 

 panula. 

 Bellworts. A common name for the group 



BEE 



Campanulacece. The term is also used in 

 the United States for Uvularia. 



Bellying. When a round body is more 

 prominent on one side, or at one point, 

 than at another. 



Bents. A common country name in Eng- 

 land for the dried stalks or culms of vari- 

 ous grasses occurring in pastures, espe- 

 cially those of Agrostis and Cynosurus. 



Berberidacece, (Berberids.) A natural order 

 of Exogens, belonging to the Thalamiflo- 

 ral sub-class of De Candolle. Lindley in- 

 cludes the order in his Berberal Alliance 

 along with Vineworts and Fumeworts. 

 The family is composed of shrubs and 

 herbaceous perennials, with alternate 

 compound leaves, which are often spiny. 

 The sepals are three, four, or six in a 

 double row; the petals are equal to the 

 sepals in number, or twice as many; the 

 stamens are equal in number to the pet- 

 als, and opposite to them; the anthers 

 have two lobes, each opening by a 

 valve, which rolls up from the bottom 

 to the top. The ovary is solitary and 

 one-celled, and the stigma orbicular. 

 The fruit is either a berry or a capsule, 

 with one, two, or three seeds. These 

 plants are found in South America as far 

 as the Straits of Magellan, and in the 

 mountainous parts of the northern hemi- 

 sphere. They are common in the north- 

 ern provinces of India, but none are 

 found in Africa, Australia, or the South 

 Sea Islands. The fruit of some of the 

 species is used as a preserve, and is some- 

 times eaten in a fresh or dried state. 

 They possess acid, bitter, and astringent 

 qualities, and oxalic acid occurs in some. 

 The stem and bark of several species are 

 used in dyeing yellow. The astringent 

 substance called Lycium by Dioscorides 

 is supposed to be furnished by the root 



