158 



BESLERIA 



BESLfiEIA (after Basil Besler, Nuremberg apothe- 

 cary, and reputed author of the superb Hortus Eystetten- 

 sis, 1613). GesnerAcew. Tropical plants, mostly sub- 

 shrubs, with somewhat 4-angled stems, large, membra- 

 naceous, opposite, petiolate Ivs. prominently veined be- 

 neath, and yellow, white or purple fls. -B. Imray is 

 herbaceous, with serrate Ivs. and yellow axillary fls. 

 B.M. 6341. Prop, by cuttings. None are known to be 

 offered in America. 



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

 Brody). Mexican CokAL Drops. An exceedingly pretty 

 summer-flowering bulbous plant, with umbels of pendu- 

 lous fls., which are vermilion outside, have a white co- 

 rona or cup within, and long, purple stamens. It is a 

 monotypic genus allied to Androstephium. Perianth 

 cup-shaped, tlie tube shorter than the oblong-lanceolate 

 segments ; stamens 6. Culture simple. Bulbs planted 

 out, and lifted when ripe. 



Alegans, Schult. f. Bulb globular, 1 in. thick, tuni- 

 cated : Ivs. 2-3, about 10-12 in., or even 2 ft., long: 

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



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 

 autumn. G.P. 4:125. Gn. 25:423. B.R. 25:34. B.R. 

 1546, as Pharitim fisfulosum. P.S. 4:424, as B. minia- 

 <!(»». — Strong bulbs sometimes throw up 6-10 scapes, 

 ■with 12-20-fld. umbels. W. jj. 



BfiTA (Latin name). ChenopodiAcew. Perhapsadozen 

 or 15 species of herbs, ranging from the Canary Islands 

 to eastern India. One polymorphous species yields the 

 cultivated Beets. This is B. vtilyaris, Moq., the origi- 

 nal form of which is perennial, and grows on the coasts 

 of southern Europe, reaching as far N. as the Straits of 

 Dover. Moquin (DC. Prodr. 13, pt. 2:56) divides the 

 derivatives of this species into three groups : (1) The 

 slender- and hard-rooted, essentially wild forms, includ- 

 ing B. maritima of Linnieus ; (2) Leaf Beet (B. Ocla), 

 comprising the various kinds of Chard or Spinach Beet 

 (see Chard); (3) the common garden Beets, or Beet- 

 root. The ornamental Beets, grown for their handsome 

 colored Ivs., are akin to the Chards. All these races 

 have been developed in comparatively modern times, 

 probably from one original form. Cf . Sturtevant, Amer. 

 Nat. 1887:433. See Beet. L. H. B. 



BETEL, or BETLE. The leaf of Piper Belle, 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 eventually corrode 

 them. The betel-nut is the fruit of Areca Catechu, a 



BETONICA and BETONY. See Stachys. 



BfiTULA (ancient Latin name). BetulAcece, a tribe of 

 Cupull(era>. BiBCH. Trees or shrubs, with the bark usu- 

 ally separating into thin, papery plates : Ivs. alternate, 

 deciduous, petioled, serrate : fls. monoecious, apetalous, 

 in catkins, opening in spring with the Ivs.; staminate 

 catkins usually long and pendulous, formed in the au- 

 tumn and remaining naked during the winter, every 

 scale bearing 3 fls., each with 2 stamens divided at the 

 apex ; pistilkite calk his iiblong or cylindrical, bearing in 

 the axil (if .-reiy srjl,' :: naked ovaries: fr. a minute 

 nut, often n r..iiiiiu-ly rrilliil seed, with membranaceous 

 wings, drciipiiiL; :il iiKitiirity with the bracts from the 

 slender riichis. About 35 species in N. America, Europe, 

 N. and Oent. Asia, especially in the northern regions. 

 No tree goes farthernorth than the Birch ; in N.America 

 B. papyrlfcra reaches 66° N. lat., and in Europe B. alba 

 goes to the North Cape, and is still a forest tree at 70°. 

 The hard and tough wood is often used in the manu- 

 facture of furniture and of many small articles, in 

 making charcoal, and for fuel; from the bark, boxes, bas- 

 kets, and many small articles are made; also canoes from 

 that of the B. papyrifera ; in Russia and Siberia it is 

 used in tanning leather. The sap of some species is used 

 as a beverage. The Birches are very ornamental park 



BETULA 



trees, hardy, except 2 or 3 Himalayan species, and espe- 

 cially valuable for culd.r climates. Their foliage is rarely 

 attacked by in-' < i -, .mhI i urns toabrightororauge-yellow 

 in fall. Their L ' > , i lie slender, often pendulous 



branches, itiu: lui' trunks make them con- 



spicuous feiiiii" - ' ! "M i:i:;i|-( ape. Espeuiallv remark- 

 able are those witli wIuh-l-i.I.u. .1 l.:.il:. rr- /,'. I'l'tirifera, 

 poputifolia, alba, l^riiiaiii, iiii'l ; ' > /■' 1/ > n/tnicicsii 

 with yellow bark. Most Birr'li. - ; , , . i -andyand 



loamy soil ; but some, as i?. '/ ,;,:, ^ . /^a, grow 

 as satisfactorily in dry localilKs and puur .soil as in 

 swamps and bogs, and they are especially valaable in 

 replanting deserted grounds as nurses for other trees ; 

 both are comparatively short-lived trees. Prop, readily 

 by seeds, gathered at maturity and sown in fall, or usu- 

 ally kept dry during the winter, or stratified ; but B. 

 nigra, which ripens its fruits in June, must be sown at 

 once, and by fall the seedlings will be several inches 

 high. The seels should !„• sown in sandy soil, slightly 

 or not at all .'. ■ u i . d, lut ].icssed firmly into the ground 

 and shaded. '','■ - must be transplanted when 



one year oi<i ^ and varieties are grafted, 



usually on 7.'. . ,■: ,nir,ra or alba. Cleft or 



tongue-graftiny lu i iml-, on potted stock in the 



greenhouse, is tlie 1" : ii .1 KmMing in summer is 

 also sometimes praii I i irras may also be 



increasedby layers, ai, / iMcnwood cuttings 



under glass. Monofxr.uli- l.\ 1;. .ui : Monographische 

 Bearbeitung der Betulaceie ( l«(;i) ; aud in De CandoUe, 

 Prodromus, 16, 2, p. 162 (1869). 



Index : alba, 10 ; atropurpurea, 10 ; Bhojpattra, 2 ; 

 Carpatica, 10 ; cordifolia, 8 ; costata, ; Dalecarlica, 10; 

 Ermani, 5 ; excelsa, 4, 10 ; fastigiata, 10, 13 ; glandu- 

 losa, 12 ; Japonica, 10 ; laciniata, 10, 9 ; lenta, 3 ; lutea, 

 4 ; Maximowiczii, 1 ; minor, 8 ; nana, 14; nigra, 7; occl- 

 dentalis, 11 ; odorata, 10 ; papyracea, 8 ; papyrifera, 8; 

 pendula, 10, 9 ; persicifolia, 14 ; platyphylla, 8 ; Pon- 

 tica, 10 ; populifolia, 9 ; pubesoens, 10 ; pumila, 13 ; 

 pyrifolia, 8 ; rubra, 7 : tortuosa, 10 ; urtioifolia, 10 ; 

 utilis, 2; 



Veins of Ivs. 



illy impressed 



1. Maximdwiczii, Regel. Tree, 80-90 ft., with smooth, 

 orange-colored trunk and dark reddish brown branch- 

 lets : Ivs. long-petioled, broadly ovate, coarsely and 

 doubly serrate, membranaceous, pubescent on younger 

 trees, nearly glabrous on older ones : cones '%-3 in. 

 long, slender, nodding ; fr. with very broad wings. 

 Jap. -This is probably the most beautiful of all Birches, 

 perfectly hardy north and of rapid growth ; its large 

 foliage and the yellow color of the trunk render it a 

 highly ornamental and conspicuous park tree. 

 BB. Lvs.i-5in.long : cones snlitari/, erect : wings nar- 



rou-er than the fruit. 

 c. Shape of Ivs. "rati or nhlong-ovate, rounded and often 

 cordali' nf tli,' h,iK,\ broadest about the middle: 

 veins dislitnihi i tii prtased above, comparatively 



snori-p, 

 2. iltiUs, 1 1 

 trunk with v 

 the base, ami 

 cent when y^ 

 cones pedum- 



'" ;,w7/n(,Wall.). Tree, 40-60 ft.: 

 I I 'irk : Ivs. ovate, rounded at 

 irregularly serrate, pubes- 

 111. In-, with 8-12 pairs of veins: 

 iilniral, 1-2 in. long ; bracts with 

 erect oblong lobes, the middle one much longer. Himal., 

 Jap. — Not quite hardy N. 



3. I§nta, Linn. Cherry, Sweet, or Black Birch. 

 Tree, 60-70 ft. ; trunk dark reddish brown, young bark 

 aromatic, of agreeable flavor : Ivs. oblong-ovate, usu- 

 ally cordate at the base, sharply and doubly serrate, 

 hairy beneath when young, nearly glabrous at length, 

 2-5 in. long : cones ovoid-oblong, 1-1^ in. long; bracts 

 with broad lobes, the middle one slightly longer. From 

 Newfoundland to Florida, west to Illinois and Missouri. 

 S.S. 9:448. Em. 232.— Very handsome tree, round- 

 headed, and with pendulous branches when older ; at- 

 tractive in spring, with its long staminate catkins. 



4. liltea, Michx. (B. excilsa, Pursh, not Ait.). Yel- 

 low Birch. Fig. 231. Tree, sometimes 100 ft.: bark 



V 



