BRASSIA 



BRASSICA 



177 



([<'<! ri'r 1/fHoiC. 



caudata, Lindl. Spikes drooping, 12-18 in.: sepals 

 and petals very long (4-6 in. ), barred with brown: lip 

 yellow and broad spotted. W. lud. A.F. 6:609. 



Lanceana. Lindl. Robust, with 2 dark green leaves 

 from each pseudobulb : fls. large and numerous, very 

 fragrant, lasting '2 or 3 weeks; sepals and petals bright 

 yellow, long and tapering, blotched with brown or red, 

 the lip yellow and wavy, spotted at the base. S. Amer. 

 B.M. :>.">77. A handsome species. There are two or 

 three varieties. 



Lawrenceana, Lindl. Sepals and petals bright yellow, 

 spotted with brown and green; lip yellow tinged with 

 i,M-een : otherwise much like the last. Braz. J.H. III. 

 30:275. 



Var. longissima, Reichb. f., has a spike 18-20 in. long, 

 and very slender sepals, which are 6 or 7 in. long, the 

 lip purple-spotted near the base. Costa Rica. B.M. 

 5748. A remarkable plant. 



Gireoudiana, Reichb. f. & Warsc. Large, with many- 

 fid, scapes: fls. larger than in S. Lanceana, the sepals 

 and petals very long, they and the lip bright yellow, 

 blotched with deep red. Costa Rica. L jj B. 



BRASSICA (old classical name). Cruciferce. Prob- 

 ably 100 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs, 

 natives of temperate regions of Europe, Africa, and 

 Asia. Petals and stamens 4: pod long, beaked : seeds 

 not winged (Figs. 258, 259). Includes all the mustards, 

 cabbages, turnips, and the like ; and to these plants the 

 reader should refer for other information. 



In common with nearly all cultivated plants, espe- 

 cially those which are perplexing, the Brassicas have re- 

 ceived too little attention from botanists. The inevita- 

 ble outcome of such neglect or of any superficial study 

 is a reduction of species, and in this direction Brassica 

 has suffered greatly. It is usually confusing to reduce 

 types. The most perplexing species in our manuals are 

 those which contain the greatest number of old types 

 or synonymous names. It is true that this is supposed to 



origin is lost, and perspicuity demands that they be kept 

 distinct in a horticultural treatise. 



The confusion into which our Brassicas have fallen is 



258. Flower of Mustard. 

 (X3.) 



be primarily due to the va- 

 riation of the species or 

 .croups, but it is often to be charged 

 to superficial study or insufficient ma- 

 terial. Our manuals contain too few 

 rather than too many species of 

 Brassica ; at all events, the miscel- 

 laneous dumping of rutabagas, tur- 

 nips, rape and other plants into 

 Brassica campestris is unnatural, 

 and, therefore, unfortunate. One of 

 the best presentations of the true 

 259. Pod or silique Brassicas is that of De Candolle's 

 of Mustard-Brassicaprodromus, as long ago as 1824 (also 

 juncea (X2). in Trans. Lond. Hort. Soc. vol. 5, 

 and in Sy sterna, 2:582-607), and the 

 following scheme closely follows that outline. Some 

 of the forms which are here kept separate as species may 

 be derived from their fellows, but the evidence of such 



12 



260. Flowers of Cabbage Brassica oleracea (X %). 



in some measure due to the different vernacular names 

 which they bear in different countries. The French use 

 the word chou generically to include all forms of B. 

 oleracea and the rutabaga that is, all the blue, thick- 

 leaved Brassicas while in England the rutabaga is 

 called the Swedish Turnip. A tabular view of the dif- 

 ferent vernaculars may be useful : 



Chou-fleur, 



Navet (or Chou-navet), Turnip, 



I Swedish Turnip, ) 

 Cauliflower, Cauliflower. 



Turnip. 



A. Whole plant glaucous -blue when in flower : Ivs. of 



the flower-stems clasping : fls. various. (Brassica 

 proper. ) 



B. Lvs. from the first more or less fleshy throughout, 



and glaucous-bine even when young : fls. large 

 and creamy yellow, the petals conspicuously long- 

 clawed, and the sepals usually erect. 

 oleracea, Linn. CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER, BRUSSELS 

 SPROUTS, KALE. Fig. 260. Lvs. smooth from the first, 

 and the root never tuberous. Sea shores of the Old 

 World, and naturally perennial. See Cabbage. 



Napus, Linn. RAPE. Lvs. smooth from the first ; 

 differing from B. oleracea chiefly in habit and more 

 deeply scalloped Ivs. The botanical position of the 

 Rapes is open to doubt. 



campestris, Linn. RUTABAGA. Fig. 261. First Ivs. 

 hairy, the root usually tuberous. 



