BEG 



Begoniacese, n. plu., 

 (after Begon, a French botanist), 

 the Begonia farnity, an Order of 

 plants : Begonia, n., bZ-gon'-i-a, 

 a genus of plants, having showy 

 pink, white, or yellow flowers, and 

 handsome succulent leaves, great 

 favourites with cultivators : Be- 

 gonia obliqua, tib-lik'wa (L. 

 obliquus, slanting, oblique), a 

 species said to have purgative 

 roots, and is sometimes called 

 wild rhubarb: B. gemmipara, 

 jem-ip'-ar-a (L. gemma, a bud ; 

 pario, I bring forth), a species 

 from the Himalayas, which has 

 gemmae in the axils of the stipules. 



belladonna, n., bel-la-ddn'nd (It. 

 bella, beautiful ; donna, lady 

 from its use as a cosmetic by the 

 ladies of Italy), an extract of the 

 leaves of the deadly nightshade, 

 a valuable narcotic in small 

 doses, but a deadly poison if 

 exceeded, remarkable for its 

 power, in certain doses, of dilat- 

 ing the pupils of the eyes : Atropa 

 belladonna, atf-r dp -a(Gr. A tropos, 

 one of the three Fates, whose 

 duty it was to cut the thread of 

 life in allusion to its deadly 

 effects), the systematic name for 

 belladonna, is one of our most 

 active indigenous poisons, Ord. 

 Solanaceae, Sub-ord. Atropese. 



Bellis, n., bel'-tis (L. bellus, pretty, 

 charming), a genus of plants, 

 Ord. Compositse, including the 

 common daisy : Bellis perennis, 

 per-Zn'-ms (L. perennis, that lasts 

 the whole year through, never- 

 failing fromper, through; annus, 

 a year), the always charming ; the 

 common wild daisy of our fields 

 and hills ; in Scotland called the 

 Go wan : B. fistulosa, fist'-uloz'a 

 (L. fistulosa, full of holes, porous), 

 the red daisy of our gardens : B. 

 hortensis, h&rt-ens'is (L. horten- 

 sius, belonging to a garden from 

 hortus, a garden), the common 

 red daisy : B. prolifera, prd-tif- 

 %r>a (L. proles, offspring ; ftro, 



47 BET 



I bear), the striped daisy, bearing 

 abnormal buds. 



benzoin, n., bZn'zd-m (said to be 

 from Ar. benzoah; Sp. benjui, 

 benzoin), a concrete, balsamic 

 exudation obtained by incisions 

 from a tree of Sumatra and 

 Borneo the Sty rax benzoin ; 

 also called benzoe, and vulgarly 

 benjamin: benzoic, a., ben- 

 zo r -ik, denoting an acid obtained 

 from benzoin, vulgarly called 

 benjamin flowers : benzoinum, 

 n., ben'-zo-in'-um, the pharma- 

 copoeial name for * benzoin. ' 



BerberidacesB, n. plu., ber'-bZr-i- 

 daf-se-e(L. berberis, the barberry ; 

 Ar. berberi, wild), the Barberry 

 family, an Ord. of plants : Ber- 

 beris, n., ber'b$r-z8, a genus of 

 plants : Berberis vulgaris, vulg- 

 ar'-is (L. vulgaris, general, 

 common), the common barberry 

 tree, the bark and stem of which 

 are astringent, and yield a yellow 

 dye ; the fruit contains oxalic 

 acid, and is used as a preserve : 

 B. lycium, lisli'-l-um (Gr. lukion, 

 a thorny tree of Thessaly ; Lycia 

 in Asia Minor, where found), a 

 tree which affords a medicinal 

 extract in much repute in ancient 

 times, and still in India, chiefly 

 for ophthalmia : berberin, n., 

 ber^ber-in, an alkaline substance 

 obtained from the root of the 

 barberry shrub. 



Bertholletia, n., berth<dl-le<shi-d 

 (in honour of the chemist Ber- 

 thollet), a genus of tall ornamental 

 trees, Ord. Myrtacese : Berthol- 

 letiaexcelsa, ek-sels'd(L. excekus, 

 elevated, lofty) ; or, according to 

 others, B. uobilis, nob'-il-is (L. 

 nobilis, famous, celebrated), a tree 

 which produces the well-known 

 Brazil nuts. 



Berzelia, n., Ur-zel'-i-a (after the 

 chemist Berzeliiis), a genus of 

 pretty flowering plants, Ord. 

 Braniacese. 



Beta, n., bet'-a (L. beta, the beet- 

 root; said to be Celtic bett, red), a 



