158 



BESLERIA 



BETULA 



BESLERIA (after Basil Besler, Nuremberg apothe- 

 cary, and reputed author of the superb Hortus Eystetten- 

 sis, 1613). Gesneracece. 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. 



BESSERA (after Dr. Besser, professor of botany at 

 Brody). MEXICAN CORAL 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, the tube shorter than the oblong-lanceolate 

 segments; stamens 6. Culture simple. Bulbs planted 

 out, and lifted when ripe. Belongs to lily family. 



Slegans, 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.; 

 pedicels 1-1% in. long ; perianth 9-10 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 

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

 1546, as Pharitim fistulosum. F.S. 4:424, as B. minia- 

 tum. Strong bulbs sometimes throw up 6-10 scapes, 

 with 12-20-fld. umbels. W. M. 



BETA (Latin name). Chenopodiacecv. Perhaps a dozen 

 or 15 species of herbs, ranging from the Canary Islands 

 to eastern India. One polymorphous species yields the 

 cultivated Beets. This is B. vulgaris, 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 Linnaeus ; (2) Leaf Beet (B. Clcla), 

 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> Hj 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 eventually corrode 

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

 palm. 



BETONICA and BETONY. See Stachys. 



BETULA (ancient Latin name). Betulacece, a tribe of 

 Cupuliferce. BIRCH. 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 ; pistillate catkins oblong or cylindrical, bearing in 

 the axil of every scale 3 naked ovaries : fr. a minute 

 nut, often erroneously called seed, with membranaceous 

 wings, dropping at maturity with the bracts from the 

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

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

 No tree goes farther north than the Birch ; in N. America 

 B. papyrifera 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 

 es a beverage. The Birches are very ornamental park 



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

 cially valuable for colder climates. Their foliage is rarely 

 attacked by insects, and turns to a bright or orange-yellow 

 in fall. Their graceful habit, the slender, often pendulous 

 branches, and the picturesque trunks make them con- 

 spicuous features of the landscape. Especially remark- 

 able are those with white-colored bark, as B. papyrifera, 

 populifolia, alba, Ermani, and also B. Maximowiczii 

 with yellow bark. Most Birches prefer moist, sandy and 

 loamy soil ; but some, as B. alba and popiili folia, grow 

 as satisfactorily in dry localities and poor soil as in 

 swamps and bogs, and they are especially valuable 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 seeds should be sown in sandy soil, slightly 

 or not at all covered, but pressed firmly into the ground 

 and shaded. The seedlings must be transplanted when 

 one year old. Rarer species and varieties are grafted, 

 usually on B. lenta, papyrifera, nigra or alba. Cleft or 

 tongue-grafting in early spring, on potted stock in the 

 greenhouse, is the best method. Budding in summer is 

 also sometimes practiced. Shrubby forms may also be 

 increased by layers, and B. nana by greenwood cuttings 

 under glass. Monographs by Regel : Monographische 

 Bearbeitung der Betulacese ( 1861) ; and in De Candolle, 

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



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

 Carpatica, 10 ; cordif olia, 8 ; costata, 6 ; 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; occi- 

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

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

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

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

 utilis, 2 ; verrucosa, 10. 



A. Veins of Ivs. more than 7 pairs, 

 above. Trees. 



tally impressed 



B. Lvs. large, 4-6 in, long, deeply cordate: cones 

 cylindrical, racemose, 2-4. 



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. 2-5 in. long : cones solitary, erect : wings nar- 

 rower than the fruit. 



c. Shape of Ivs. ovate or oblong-ovate, rounded and often 

 cordate at the base, broadest about the middle: 

 veins distinctly impressed above, comparatively 

 short-petioled. 



2. utilis, Don (B. Bhojpdttra,W&ll.). Tree, 40-60 ft,: 

 trunk with reddish brown bark : Ivs. ovate, rounded at 

 the base, acuminate, densely irregularly serrate, pubes- 

 cent when young, 2-3 in. long, with 8-12 pairs of veins : 

 cones peduncled, cylindrical, 1-2 in. long ; bracts with 

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

 Jap. Not quite hardy N. 



3. lenta, 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. 8.9:448. Em. 232.-Very handsome tree, round- 

 headed, and with pendulous branches when older ; at- 

 tractive in spring, with its long staminate catkins. 



4. lutea, Michx. (B. excelsa, Pursh, not Ait.). YEL- 

 LOW BIRCH. Fig. 231. Tree, sometimes 100 ft.: bark 



