BOMAREA 



BORDER 



169 



mences early in spring. Late in fall the stems are cut 

 down to the ground and the roots are kept in the soil in 

 a dry state. While they often make satisfactory pot 

 plants, they do best when planted out in an open, sunny 

 position in a cool conservatory, where they have plenty 



of air in summer. Prop, by fresh seeds, 

 which germinate readily if sown in shallow 

 pans in a warm propagating-house. Also, 

 and more rapidly, by careful division of the rhizome, 

 to which some of the roots should be attached. 



Cult, by N. J. ROSE. 

 A. Perianth segments equal. 

 B. Umbel simple : fls. medium-sized. 

 oligantha, Baker. Lvs. 3-4 in. long, oblong, acute, 

 lax, thin, densely pubescent beneath : fls. 6-8 in an 

 umbel: bracts large, leaf -like; segments 1-134 in. long, 

 outer dull red, inner bright yellow with reddish brown 

 spots. Peruvian Andes. 



BB. Umbel compound. 



c. Fls. small. 



Salsilla, Herb. (B. ociilata, M. Roem. Alstr&meria 

 oculata, Lodd.). Pig. 243. Lvs. 2-4 in. long, Kin. 

 broad, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, moderately firm, 

 glabrous beneath : umbel 4-15-rayed ; rays 1-3 in. long, 

 1-3-fld. ; bracts small : fls. pink or red, marked with 

 blue and dark purple within. Chili. L.B.C. 19:1851. 

 B.M. 3344. 



cc. Fls. large. 



Carderi, Mast. Lvs. 4-6 in. long, l%-3 in. broad, ob- 

 long, acute : umbel 1 ft. long, 6-9-rayed ; rays 1-4-fld. : 

 bracts large, leafy ; perianth-segments 2 in. long, outer 

 pale pink, spotted brown near the top, inner greenish 

 white, much spotted. P.M. 1876: 239. G.C. II. 5: 793. 



Shuttle worthii, Mast. Lvs. 5-6 in. long, oblong, acute, 

 glabrous : umbel 1 ft. long, 5-10-rayed ; rays usually 3- 

 fld.: perianth segments 2 in. long, outer reddish, .inner 

 greenish yellow. Colombian Andes. G.C. II. 17: 77 and 

 85. The curious egg-shaped tubers terminate un- 

 branched roots, which spring from a rhizome about 1 in. 

 wide. Having no eyes or buds, they cannot be used for 

 propagating. 

 AA. Perianth segments not equal, the inner longer 



than the outer. 

 B. Umbel simple. 



Patacoc6nsis, Herb. (I?. confMa, Benth.). Stems pur- 

 ple-tinted, pubescent : Ivs. 5-6 in. long, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, pubescent beneath : fls. 20-30 ; outer segments 

 l/^ in. long, bright red, inner ones 2K in. long, bright 

 red, yellow-keeled, with a few spots. Andes of Equador 

 and Colombia. G.C. II. 17: 187. B.M. 6692. -When well- 

 grown, the umbel is very dense and many-fld. 



BB. Umbel compound. 



vitellina, Mast. Lvs. 3-4 in. long, ovate-oblong : um- 

 bel about 12-rayed : perianth segments bright yellow, 

 outer IK in. long, inner 2 in. long : bracts large, leafy. 

 Peruvian Andes. G.C. II. 17: 151. W. M. 



BOMB AX (a Greek name for raw silk, alluding to the 

 cottony contents of the pods). Malvacew. SILK COTTON 

 TREE. Ten or 12 tropical trees, with digitate 5-9-foliolate 



Ivs., 1-fld. axillary or clustered peduncles, and usually 

 large white or scarlet fls. Specimens are rarely seen in 

 cult, in fine glass-houses, and none of the species appear 

 to be in the Amer. trade. The bark of some species pro- 

 duces commercial fiber. 



BONESET. Eupatorium perfoliatum. 



BORAGE (Borago officinalis, Linn.). Boraginacece. 

 A coarse annual plant grown for culinary use in some 

 parts of Eu., as in Germany. Used as a pot-herb and 

 sometimes with salads. Only the young Ivs. 

 are palatable. Mostly known in this country 

 as a bee-plant and for its handsome blue 

 or purplish racemed fls. It is a hairy plant, 

 l%-2 ft. high, with oval or oblong Ivs. Eu., 

 North Africa. 



BORASSUS. Palmacece. Tall palms, with large pal- 

 mately flabelliform plicate Ivs. : sheath short : petiole 

 spiny: ligule short, rigid : fr. large, subglobose, brown. 

 Species 1. Trop. Africa. 



flabellifdnnis, Linn. Fig. 244. St. 30-100 ft. high: Ivs. 

 8-10 ft. long; If. -segments bifid at the apex. Widely 

 cultivated. One of the most useful palms of India. 

 The fruits are very large. Many parts of the plant are 

 utilized by the natives as food and in the arts. Wood 

 black, very hard. This plant requires rich soil and 

 strong heat for its best development, and is rather slow- 

 growing under cultivation, especially while young. The 

 illustration (Fig. 244) is adapted from Martius' Natural 

 History of Palms. 



JARED G. SMITH and W. H. TAPLIN. 



BORDER. A narrow planting, particularly if it is 

 alongside a walk, drive, fence, or other boundary. 

 Plate III. Figs. 245, 246. The term border may be taken 

 to have meant originally a line of plants set out to mark 

 the edge or dividing line, or termination of a part of the 

 grounds, in many instances still to be seen in the most 

 ancient gardens of castles and other residences. These 

 are formed on the ter- 

 race, where no other ^iM^if^. 

 form of floral decora- 

 tion would be possible. 

 In these places are 

 often herbs, shrubs and 

 trees that are grand 

 old specimens of very 

 rare or tender subjects, 

 that would not thrive 

 in any other location. 



There are three dis- 

 tinct types of border : 



(1) the shrubbery bor- 

 der, in which various 

 forms of garden plants 

 of fruticose habit are 

 blended so as to make 

 a harmonious whole. 



(2) Another form of 

 border, now happily al- 

 most obsolete, is the 

 "ribbon border," in 

 which plants of dwarf 

 habit and bright color- 

 ing are used to produce 

 geometrical designs on 

 the greensward. This 

 form of gardening was 

 very common in parks 

 and public spaces until 

 recent years, but pub- 

 lic taste has been edu- 

 cated to see and to like 

 the old-fashioned bor- 

 der, or (3) the border 

 proper, the one that 



was used when gardening had to be done without the aid 

 of glass structures, all the occupants being hardy by na- 

 ture, whether of annual, biennial or perennial dura- 

 tion. It may be said that we are in the renaissance of 

 the flower border ; but much has been added to it, and 



Borassus flabelliformis. 



