BLA 



52 



BOR 



ic, a., blast'-o-derm'-ik, of or be- 

 longing to the blastoderm. 



Blastoidea, n. plu., blast- oyd'-Z-a 

 (Gr. blastos, a bud; eidos, re- 

 semblance), an extinct Order of 

 Echinodermata : blastostyle, n., 

 Uasl'-d-stil (G-r. stulos, a column), 

 certain columniform zooids in the 

 Hydrozoa which are destined to 

 bear generative buds. 



blebs, see 'bulk.' 



Wetting, n., UtMng (Gr. bletos, 

 thrown, wounded ; L. bliteus, 

 tasteless, hard), the change that 

 occurs in the pulp of a fruit after 

 being kept for some time, and 

 -from which a sour fruit becomes 

 soft, edible, and pleasant. 



Blighia, n., btig'4-a (after Captain 

 Bligh, who carried the breadfruit 

 to the W. Indies), a plant which 

 produces the Akel fruit, whose 

 succulent arillus is used as food, 

 the fruit being as large as a 

 goose's egg, Ord. Sapindaceae. 



Bcehmeria, n., 'be-mer^i-d (in 

 honour of Bcehmer, a German 

 botanist), a genus of plants, Ord. 

 Urticacese : Bcehmeria nivea, 

 niv'-frd (L. niveus, snowy from 

 nix, snow), a plant which supplies 

 fibre for Chinese grass cloth, also 

 the Rhea fibre of Assam. 



Boldoa, n., b8l*dd'-a (after Boldoa, 

 a Spanish botanist), a genus of 

 plants, Ord. Choniniiaceae : Bol- 

 doa fragrans, fraf-granz (L. 

 fragrans, emitting a smell), an 

 aromatic tree of Chili whose leaves 

 contain an essential oil. 



Boletus, n., bol-et'us (Gr. bolites, 

 L. boletus, the boletus, the best 

 kind of mushroom from bolos, a 

 mass or lump, in reference to its 

 massy or globular form), a genus 

 of fungi found in woods, pastures, 

 and on old trees a curious pro- 

 duction whose species are succul- 

 ent; the Chinese eat fungi largely, 

 and prefer the Boleti to the Agar- 

 ics : Boletus granulatus, gran'- 

 ul'dt'-us (L. grdnulum, a little 

 grain from granum, a grain); 



B. subtomentosus, tom'en-toz'-us 

 (L. sub, a less or inferior degree ; 

 tomVntum, a woolly flocks) ; and 

 B. edulis, td-ul'-te (L. edulis, 

 eatable), are all edible, and the 

 last excellent when cooked. 



bolus, n., bol'-us (Gr. bolos, a mass 

 or lump), a medicinal round mass, 

 larger than a pill. 



Bombacese, n. plu., Wm-ba'-se-e 

 '(L. bombyx, cotton, in allusion 

 to the wool in the pods), a tribe 

 of plants of the Ord. Steruliaceae, 

 having hermaphrodite flowers 

 and palmate or digitate leaves : 

 Bombax, n., btim'-baks, a genus of 

 plants, named 'silk-cotton trees: ' 

 Bombax ceiba, se-ib'-a, (Sp. ctiba, 

 the silk-cotton tree), the silk- 

 cotton tree ; the cotton, having 

 no cohesion in its fibres, can only 

 be used for stuffing cushions and 

 chairs, and similar domestic pur- 

 poses. 



Boraginacese,n. plu., bor- adf-in- 

 sg-e(Sp. borrdja, borage; borago, 

 a corruption of L. cor, the heart, 

 and ago, I bring so called from 

 the nourishing qualities of the 



Elant), the Borage or Bugloss 

 imily, an 'Order of plants which 

 are generally mucilaginous and 

 emollient : Boraginese, n. plu., 

 bo^-adj-m'-fre, a Sub-order : 

 Borago, n., bdr'dg f -o, a genus of 

 plants having succulent stems : 

 Borago officinalis, df-fts'-m-dl'is 

 (L. officinal), borage, which has 

 been 'Used as a remedy in pectoral 

 affections, and otherwise em- 

 ployed. 



borax, n., bor^aks (Ar. baurac, a 

 species of nitre), a salt in appear- 

 ance like crystals of alum, a com- 

 pound of boracic acid and soda; 

 used as a domestic remedy for 

 children whose mouths are sore, 

 and for various antiseptic pur- 

 poses. 



Boronia, n., bor-on'-i-a (after 

 Boroni, an Italian), a pretty and 

 interesting genus of New Holland 

 plants, Ord. Rutaceae, which 



