BERTOLONIA 



the ovary is 3-colleii. Gravosia Im? n ficollpd ovary, 

 and Souerila is trimerous. In Bert(>!<»!ii:i »h<' fMmt.-ctive 



of the anthers has no appendage : m ^ i,,, i, ,,. jj 



a spur helow and behind thecoim i i i , -icna 



there is a spur in front, and the c;!!;. i n ; i : i 



Bertolonias are essentially fiinrn i ' p! mi It is 

 somewhat difHcult to bring out their trim elnir.i.teristics 

 under ordinary stove treatment, as they require a more 

 humid atmosphere than can usually be maintained, even 

 in a small house. The additional shelter of a small 

 frame should be provided, where the atmospheric con- 

 ditions will be much more easily regulated. A plentiful 

 supply of water at the roots is necessary ; syringing or 

 sprinklinp; overhe.td is not advisable. The most con- 

 venient iiietii,..! c.f i>r..|>ngation is by cuttings, which 



strike v ii » n , i l.rately close propagating case 



filled w I 111(1. The pots should be thor- 

 oughly ( i ! ' :n((l,and the compost open and 



porous. Ihi I. r ill ,1,11-,,, shade. Old plants are not so 

 brilliant iis young ones. 



Bertolonias and their allies furnish an excellent ex- 

 ample of Van Houtte's triumphs in hybridization. The 

 two species described below have probably been im- 

 portant factors in the plant-breeding, and Oravesiagut- 

 lala even more so. Gravesia is a Madagascar plant, 

 and has, perhaps, been crossed with the Brazilian Ber- 

 tolonias. Unfortunately, the pictures in Flore des Ser- 

 res show no flowers, and the pedigree is not given. The 

 Bertonerilas figured and described in I.H. 43, pp. 188 

 and 189, with colored plates 04 and 68, are presumably 

 hybrids between Bertolonia and Sonerila. Excepting C. 

 maculata Buii C. marmorata, the following are hybrids. 

 A. Veins not lined on both sides with a colored Ixind. 



marmor&ta, Naudin. Stem less densely hairy than 

 the above : Ivs. more narrowly ovate, or ovate-oblong, 

 acute, sparsely hairy, streaked with white along the 



Eriocnema mnrmnmta, Naudin. P.S.7: 7.W, as li. 

 lata, var. ti:ii niwrntn , I'liuielion. roifrnenux reengnizes 

 two varieties, viir. genuina, witli Ivs. grein .'il.ove.and 

 banded with white along the \eins i var. ienSa [Krioc- 

 nima wh!,i iiiid IS. „ ii.'ii, Namliii), with Ivs. .lark green 

 with a coppery cast, but not spotted or only slightly so. 

 Mirdndsei, V^an Houtte. Spots red on the lower Ivs. 

 and white on the upper or younger ones : Ivs. purple 

 beneath. F.S. 21:2235 (1875). 



B. Hands and spots magenta or purple. 



macul&ta, DC. Stem short, decumbent, rooting at the 

 base, densely clothed with rusty hairs : Ivs. long- 

 petioled, cordate, broadly ovate, obtuse, hispid above 

 and at margins, dark velvety green above, often spot- 

 ted; calyx densely clothed with glandular hairs: petals 

 obovate, soniewhat acute, rose-colored. B.M.455I. 



Houtte4na, Van Houtte (IS. Van Houltei, Hort.). 

 IjVs. purple l>eneiith. This wtis the sensational i)lant of 

 1874, and Van Houtte refused $2,000 for his stock of it. 

 It was originated by his propagator, Marchatid. F. S. 

 20:2120. 



mi. Bands and spots silvery whitr. 

 C. Spots very distinct. 



Hruby&na, Van Houtte. This has bars of white con- 

 necting the veins. The under side of the Ivs. seems to 

 be green instead of purple, at least toward the tip. F.S. 

 23:2.381. 



Kodecki&na, Van Houtte. Distinguished from the 



above and all others of this group by the abundance of 



dark red color in the upper surface of the Ivs. Veins 



of the under side prominent and green. F.S. 23: 2382. 



CO. Spots very faint. 



Lesrelleina, Van Houtte (B. Legrille, Hort.). There 

 are a few longitudinal bars, but they do not connect the 

 veins. Reterred to Oravesia guttata by Coigneaux. 

 F.S. 23: 2407. 



Other trade names are S. nuUAta. Hook, f .=Gravcsia ciit- 

 tata.— B. martiaritacea, Hort. BiilI.=Salpiuea margaritacea.— 

 £. primulatldra, Hort.= Monolema primuloBflora.— iJ. pubis- 



BESCHORNERIA 157 



crns, Hort., with long white hairs and a chocolate band down 

 the center. E.rei,l,.r n f'nriatissitna.Horl.—H.suDerblt- 

 »i»ia,Hort. 1 1', 1 1, 1 n,,,i ), with rose colored spots, which 



pi^bai;?^";.'";,'! :,;.,,; v",;;;;;^'"''^"' ^--M-isKms).- 



W M. s, .1 I. Tarrytown,N. Y.,andW. M. 



BEETONEKlLA. A class of handsome foliage plants, 

 presumably hybrids between Bertolonia and Sonerila. 

 I.H. vol. 43 (189U). For culture, see Bertolonia. 



BESCHOENfiRIA (after H. Boschorncr, German 

 liotanisi ). .1 1,1,11 i/ltiddcecf. Succulent desert plants, al- 

 lied to llravoa and Doryanthes. Lvs. in a rosette, glau- 

 cous, roughish at the margins, not so thick, firm or 

 fleshy as in Agave (which has a strong end-spine and 

 horny marginal prickles): rootstock short, tuberous. 

 In Besohorneria, the perianth is usually reddish green, 

 with scarcely any tiiiie and witli Ioiil'. olilaneenlnte s.-.r. 

 raents; in Doryantlie^ i !,,■ |,, , i,,,,: i, , , i,, i.:i,( , , ,i. 1 1,, ,'.'. 

 ments long, narrow! > i ,,, i, ,,1, 



is red or white, the n. , , .i ,1 , ,, , , , ,1,,. 



segments short. .1. 1 ; 1 ' ,' , , . \ mnA iii.i,,,,,, i(,i. cih,,,.,. 

 similar to ,\l i\,, M ,irsare vi'i-y closely allied, 



anddiflieuli Tlie following are the only 



kindswelllsi, n -leallfromMex. They flower 



at long, irre^-iiiir |„ 1 i,,,i , .as do century plants. 



The species sneeeed l.esi, when treated similarly to 

 Agaves, with the exception of the soil, which may be 

 made richer by the addition of crushed bone and a 

 little vegetable mold. All of the species need green- 

 house protection in the northern states. Useful for 

 bedding. 



A. Roughish on both surfaces of lvs. 



tubiilbra, Kunth. Lvs. 12 or more, l!^-2 ft. long, 1 in. 



broad, linear, long-aeuminate, narrowest of the genus. 



B.M. 4G42.-The oldest and best known species. 



AA. Roughish beneath and on the margins of Irs. 



B. Zi-rs. very glaucous. 

 Tonilii, Jacobi {B. 2'one(»dna, Jacobi). Allied to B. 

 tubiflora, but with looser habit and much broader lvs. 

 Lvs. 15-20, l-l}4tt. long, 2-2>^ in. broad, short-acumi- 

 nate, and more boldly contracted below the middle. 

 B.M. (i09l. 



nn. Lvs. less glaucous. 

 r. liiisr of lvs. thick, about % inch. 

 Deko8terld,na, C. Koch. Lvs. 15-20, 2-4!^ ft. long, 

 2-2',j in. broad, oblanceolate, long-acuminate, very grad- 

 ually tapering both ways from the middle, l-V/im. 

 broad above the base ; the bases thickest in the genus. 

 B.M. G7()8. 



CO. Base of lvs. thinner. 

 D. Narrowed to less than 1 inch above the base. 

 braoteata, Jacobi. Lvs. 20-30, lX-2 ft. long, 2 in. 

 broad, short-acuminate ; texture thin but firm. B.M. 

 6641.— In the picture the margins are rougher than in 

 any other species, and they are also wavy or revoluto at 

 intervals. 



inj. Narrowed to % inch above the base. 

 yuccoides. Hook. f. Lvs. about 20, 1-1>^ ft. long, 2 in. 

 Iiioad, lanceolate, short-acuminate. B.M. 5203. -The 

 lvs. are broader than in A. tubiflora, shorter acuminate, 

 and more boldly narrowed below the middle. In the 

 picture cited, the lvs. seem more spreading and less 

 revolute than in the rest of the genus. 



B. Califdmica is offered by Dr. Franceschi, Santa 

 Barbara, Colif., without description. 



As Beschornerias can be certainly identified only 

 when in flower, the following key is added : 

 A. Inflorescence racemose. 



B. Fls. highly colored, purple and red-Tonelii. 

 BB. Fls. dull-colored, reddish green- (i(6t7/ora. 

 AA. Inflorescence panicled. 



B. Fls. 2 or 3 in a cluster— Z>eA:<).s/<;»-m)in. 

 BB. Fls. more numerous in the cluster, 3-7. 

 c. Peduncles bright red — )/MCCoirfc.s-. 

 CO. Peduncle dull reddish brown — ^rac<ea (a. 

 G. W. OuvEK and W. M. 



