162 



BIGNONIA 



BILLBERGIA 



fls. panicled, large (3%in. across), ranging from mauve 

 to purple-red, the throat primrose, limb wide-spreading. 

 Colombia. G.C. II. 12:73. 



regalis, Hort. Lvs. elliptic-lanceolate : fls. large, yel- 

 low and red. Guiana. Of recent introduction. Requires 

 warm treatment. 



argyreo-violascens, Hort. Lvs. ovate, cordate at base, 

 short-stalked, purple when young, but becoming beau- 

 tifully veined and blotched with white : fls. purple. 

 S. Amer.? I.H. 13:469. 



AA. Lvs. pinnately compound, the % lower Ifts. usually 

 foliaceous and the others represented by tendrils. 



B. Fls. normally from the axils of the Ivs, 

 c. Pedicels l-fld. 



capreolata, Linn. TRUMPET-FLOWER. CROSS-VINE. 

 QUARTER-VINE. Climbing to great heights (often 50 ft. 

 or more), glabrous, evergreen : Ifts. stalked, oblong- 

 acuminate, cordate, entire : fls. in many 2-5-fld. short- 

 peduncled cymes, yellow-red and lighter within, tubu- 

 lar (2 in. long), with a stout limb Native from Md. S. 

 and W., and often a pest in orchards, climbing on the 

 trees. B.M. 864. Gng. 1: 370, 371. -Handsome vine for 

 outdoor use. Good for covering walls. Sometimes 

 grown in conservatories. A cross-section of the stem 

 presents a cross-form appearance, whence one of the 

 common names. 



Var. atrosanguinea, Hook. f. (B. atrosanguinea, 

 Hort.). Lvs. longer and narrower: fls. dark purple, 

 the lobes short and triangular-ovate. B.M. 6501. F.R. 

 2:27. Handsome. 



Tweediana, Lindl. Leaflets lanceolate and pointed, 

 cordate, 3 in. or less long : fls. trumpet-shaped, 2 in. 

 long, orange-yellow, the limb of rounded, spreading 

 lobes and from 2-4 in. across. Argentina. B.R. 26: 45. 

 Gn. 40:812. -Will stand a little frost if grown in the 

 open in the South. 



cc. Pedicels 2-fld. 



Lindleyi, DC. Glabrous : Ifts. oblong or ovate-oblong, 

 cordate, acute, somewhat wavy-margined : fls. pale 

 purple, with spots and stripes, the tube oblong-cylin- 

 drical (2 in. long), the limb short and the lobes obo- 

 vate-rounded and undulate. Argentina. Blooms when 

 young. 



specidsa, R. Grab. Glabrous: leaflets 3 in. long, ellip- 

 tical and more or less acuminate, shining, the midrib 



235. Bignonia venusta (X 



prominent : fls. 3 in. long, with compressed tube, which 

 is furrowed or plaited below and yellowish with lilac 

 streaks, the limb 2-3 in. across, purple and streaked, the 

 lobes spreading-reflexed, obtuse and wavy. Argentina. 

 B.M. 3888. Needs warm or intermediate temp. ; blooms 



in spring and early summer. When grown in the open 

 in the S., will stand a little frost. 



BB. Fls. in clusters terminating the branchlets. 

 c. Branches prominently 4-angled. 



buccinatdria, Mairet. (B. Cherere, Lindl. B. Kerere, 

 Hort.). Tall: leaflets 2-3 in. long, elliptic or ovate-ob- 

 long, obtuse or only cuspidate, pellucid-dotted, the 

 petioles (as the racemes) tomentose : fl. long-tubular 

 (4 in. long), blood-red, but yellow at base, the limb 

 rather narrow, with retuse lobes. Mex. Gn. 26:471. 

 B.M. 7516. R.H. 1898: 580. Needs coolhouse treatment. 

 Strong grower. One of the finest species. 



c. Branches terete or very nearly so. 



aequinoctialis, Linn. Glabrous : Leaflets ovate to 

 oval-lanceolate, obtuse or acuminate, shining above : 

 fls. in both terminal and axillary panicles ; corolla gla- 

 brous, trumpet-shaped, 2% in. long, purple, with dark 

 rose stripes (but said in garden books to be yellow); 

 fls. sometimes only in 2's. W. Ind. and S. Amer. Per- 

 haps not the plant known under this name in the trade. 



Chamberlaynii, Sims. Glabrous : leaflets ovate-acu- 

 minate, glabrous, shining above, paler beneath, more or 

 less tapering at base : fls. tubular, contracted below, 

 3-4 in. long, the limb comparatively short and spread- 

 ing, bright yellow ; cluster many-fld. Braz. B.M. 2148. 

 Perhaps a form of the last. This species and B. 

 cequioctialis are referred to the genus Anemopwgma by 

 some. 



venusta, Ker-Gawl. Fig. 235. Sts. striate or some- 

 what angular, the young ones pubescent : leaflets usu- 

 ally 3, glabrous, ovate-acuminate, more or less tapering 

 at base : fls. in corymbose, mostly drooping racemes ; 

 corolla slender and long-tubular, contracted in the lower 

 half (2-3 in. long), with 2-lipped limb and oblong, obtuse, 

 reflexing lobes, crimson-orange. Braz. B.M. 2050. A.F. 

 11: 1023. Requires a rather warm house. Profuse 

 bloomer; early winter. One of the best rafter plants. 



purpurea, Lodd. Glabrous, tall-climbing : leaflets 

 often 3, usually 2, lance-obovate, abruptly acuminate, 

 short-stalked, toothed or entire : fls. mauve or rose-pur- 

 ple, with a white eye, the flaring tube 1 in. long, the 

 wide-spreading lobes rounded. S. Amer. B.M. 5800. 

 G.C. III. 24: 399. Requires warm treatment. 



B. adenophylla, Wall.=Heterophragma. B. alba, Hort.= 

 Pithecoctenium. B. grandifldra, Th\mb.=Tecoma. B. radl- 

 cans, Linn.=Tecoma. B. suaveolens, Roxbg.=Stereospermum. 

 B. Thunbergii,Hort'=Tecoma. L. H. B 



BILIM^I. See Averrhoa. 



BILLAKDlfiKA (after J. J. Labillardiere, French 

 botanist and traveler.) Piltospordcece. Tender Austra- 

 lian climbers, with terminal, solitary, pendulous, tubu- 

 lar, stalked fls., generally yellow, and edible fr. B. lon- 

 giflora and B. scandens are cult, abroad as greenhouse 

 climbers. B. cymosa, cult, outdoors at Santa Barbara, 

 Calif., is Sollya heterophylla. 



BILLBfiKGIA (for the Swedish botanist, J. G. Bill- 

 berg). Bromeliacece. About 40 tropical American ever- 

 green epiphytal herbs, now much cult, by amateurs and 

 in fancy collections. A few kinds are well known to 

 florists. A closely allied genus is ^Echmea, which see 

 for botanical differences. The fls. are in a spike or spi- 

 cate panicle, which rises from the center of the rosette 

 of long, spiny edged, and usually stiff, pineapple-like 

 Ivs. : fls. showy, with 3-parted calyx and 3 long petals, 

 6 exserted stamens, thread-like style, and berry-like 

 fr. The colored bracts of the fl. -clusters are usually 

 very showy. Cf. Charles Mez, the latest monographer, 

 in DC. Phaner. Monogr. 9. Species confused ; but 

 the artificial arrangement given below may aid the 

 gardener. 



Billbergias can be cultivated best in greenhouses, 

 planted in pans, pots, wooden cribs, or wire baskets, 

 with loose, light material about their roots, such as 

 pieces of charcoal, roots of very fibrous plants, or fern 

 roots and sphagnum moss, and such material. They 

 require little water at the roots in winter, and nothing 

 but light sprinkling over the foliage is required to keep 

 them alive during that time. But in summer, when the 

 heat is great and they are making their growth, they 



