166 



BLACKBERRY 



BLECHNUM 



plants as long as possible before picking, for it is not 

 ripe when it first turns black. It should never be 

 exposed to the sun after it is removed from the bushes. 

 The Blackberry generally outyields all the other mem- 

 bers of this family, and is usually one of the most profit- 



239. Sand 

 Blackberry. 



able to grow when properly managed, provided the cli- 

 mate and other general conditions are favorable. 



There are several formidable enemies of the Black- 

 berry, but they are generally easily mastered by the 

 alert and energetic grower. Cutting out the bearing 

 canes as soon as they are through fruiting will circum- 

 vent the borer which sometimes works in the canes, and 

 will aid in preventing the spread of anthracnose and 

 leaf rusts. The orange rust must be fought by digging 

 up and burning infected bushes as soon as detected, for 

 there is no cure. But this trouble is seldom serious. 



FRED W. CARD. 



BLACKBERRY LILY. See Belemcanda. 



BLACKWOOD, See Acacia. 



BLADDER NUT. See Staphylea. 



BLADDERWORT. See Utricularia. 



BLANDFORDIA (after George, Marquis of Bland- 

 ford). Lillacece. Tender bulbous plants from Australia 

 and Tasmania, placed by J. G. Baker (Jour. Linn. Soc. 

 11:364) between Kniphofia and Funkia, but very dif- 

 ferent in general appearance from Funkia. Roots tu- 

 berous fibers: Ivs. in two vertical ranks, narrowly linear, 

 hard, persistent : fls. large, l%-3 in. long, showy, nod- 

 ding, in short racemes, usually orange-red to crimson, 

 with yellow tips. 



Being tenderer than the poker plant, and of more 

 difficult culture, Blandfordias are rarely grown in 

 America. B. flammula, var. princeps, is the best kind. 

 In New South Wales they grow in peat bogs and on 

 shady mountain sides. During the growing season they 

 must be shaded from bright sunshine, and during the 



resting season they may be placed in a light pit, where 

 they are not crowded or shaded by taller plants. They 

 like a moist atmosphere and plenty of air, but not 

 draughts. The chief element of the potting soil should 

 be peat ; if the peat is heavy, use sand freely ; if light, 

 use some loam, and pack firmly ; if spongy, add some 

 charcoal. Pot after flowering, in early spring, being 

 careful not to overpot, and plan to leave roots undis- 

 turbed for two years at least. A top-dressing each year 

 and liquid manure during growing season, is necessary 

 to produce a good flowering. Prop, by seeds sown in 

 sandy peat with mild bottom heat, or usually by careful 

 and not too frequent divisions of the root, made in early 

 spring, after flowering, at the time of repotting, and 

 preferably when strong offsets are formed. 



A. Margin of Ivs. not roughish. 



Cunningham!, Lindl. Lvs. 18-24 in. long, 3-4 lines 

 wide, broader than in B. flammea : fls. 10-15, or even 

 20. Blue Mts. of Australia. B.M. 5734. Gn. 24:411. 

 This has lately been held to be synonymous with B. 

 grandiflora, but it is horticulturally distinct, and the 

 pedicels are shorter. 



AA. Margin of Ivs. roughish. 

 B. Fls. golden yellow, without any red. 

 aurea, Hook. f. Lvs. 8-12 in. long, 1^-2 lines wide: 

 fls. 3-6, the only ones in the genus not touched with 

 red ; perianth wide-swelling, sometimes nearly as wide 

 as long, more bell-shaped than any other species. N. S. 

 Wales. B.M. 5809. 



BB. Fls. red-tubed and yellow-tipped, 

 c. Perianth long, 3-4 times as long as wide. 



nbbilis, Smith. Lvs. 12-18 in. long, %-% lines wide, 

 dark green, sharply 3-angled : fls. 4-9, smallest of the 

 genus, and narrowest. Near Port Jackson. B.M. 2003. 

 B.R. 286. 



flammea, Lindl. Lvs. 12-18 in. long, 2-2% lines wide: 

 fls. 4-12, typically constricted near the base of the tube 

 and much lower down than in B. Cunninghami. E. Aus- 

 tralia. B.M. 4819. P.M. 16:354. F.S. 6:585. F.S. 18: 

 1829, as B. Cunninghami. 



Var. princeps, Baker (B. princeps, W. G. Smith), has 

 larger and brighter colored fls., and is the best of the 

 genus. The perianth is longer and less spreading than 

 in the type, and swells very gradually from the base, 

 instead of being constricted near the base. B.M. 6209. 

 F.M. 1875:170. F.S. 22:2314. Gn. 47:1013. 



cc. Tube short, scarcely twice as long as wide. 

 grandifldra, R. Br. Lvs. 12-18 in. long, 3-4K lines 

 wide: fls. 10-30. Distinguished from all others by hav- 

 ing the filaments inserted above instead of at the middle, 

 but in var. intermedia, Baker, which connects B. grandi- 

 flora and nobilis, the filaments are inserted at the mid- 

 dle of the tube, the Ivs. are narrower, and the fls. smaller. 

 Tasmania. B.R. 924. The name grandiflora is now a 

 misnomer, as the fls. are smaller than in any other spe- 

 cies except B. nobilis. The rarest species. ^. M. 



BLANKET FLOWER. See Gaillardia. 

 BLAZING STAR. See Liatris. 



BLECHNUM (Greek name for some fern). Polypodid- 

 cece. Rather coarse greenhouse Ferns, with pinnatifid 

 or pinnate Ivs., and rows of almost continuous sori par- 

 allel to the midvein and close to it, covered with a 

 membranous indusium. Blechnums will thrive in al- 

 most any compost, but their Ivs. quickly turn brown and 

 then black if watered overhead. Prop, by spores. In 

 Blechnum we have a singular knot in nomenclature. 

 Linnaeus described two species in 1753, and to the West 

 Indian one he gave the name B. orientate, citing figures, 

 etc., to show that it is the plant that recent writers 

 call B. occidentale. His East Indian plant he simi- 

 larly called B. occidentale. The normal or ordinary 

 usage has been followed below, the name B. orientale 

 being given to the eastern plant. 



Blechnums are very useful to florists for jardinieres, 

 and for specimen Ferns. To attain best results, it is 

 necessary to maintain an abundance of moisture at the 



