BRASSICA 



BRECK 



179 



AA. WTiole plant green or hut slightly glaucous when 

 in flower: /r.s-. on the fl. -stems not prominently 

 clasping: fls. small and yellow. Anyiiials. 

 {Sinapis or Mustard.) 



B. Pod terete or nearly so. 

 jiincea, Coss. (SinApis juncea, Linn.). Chinese Mus- 

 tard. Figs. 259, 2G7. Rank and coarse grower, in the 

 common forms making great tufts of root-lvs. if sown 

 early:, radical Ivs. generally abundant and often very 

 large, oval or oboval in outline, the hlade angled or 

 toothed, tapering into a narrow petiole, which generally 

 bears leafy appendages ; lower stem-lvs. more or less 

 toothed and petiolate, the upper ones oblong or oblong- 

 lanceolate, entire and usually sessile or clasping : flow- 

 ering stems and Ivs. more or less lightly glaucous : fls. 

 bright yellow : pod slender, of medium size, tapering 

 into a short beak. Asia. —This much abused species is 

 held by Hooker and Thomson (Journ. Linn. Soc. v. 170) 

 to include a great variety of forms, as Sinapis laevigata, 

 Linn.; S. integrifolia, Willd. ; S. ramosa, rugosa, pa- 

 tens, cuneifolia, Roxbg. ; S. lanceolata,T>G., and others. 

 There are two types of it in cultivation in our gardens, 

 one with the radical Ivs. somewhat sharply toothed and 

 nearly smooth below (sometimes grown as Brassica [or 

 Sinapis] rugosa), the other with root-lvs. obtusely 

 toothed and spinescent on the veins below (comprising 

 Chinese Mustard, Chinese Broad-leaved Mustard, and 

 Brown Mustard). Linnteus founded his Sinapis juncea 

 upon a figure in Hermann's Paradisus (Hermann, Para- 

 disus Batavus, t. 230, 1705), which represents a plant 



anth-tube : fr. 3-celled, many-seeded. Native of the 

 mountain and table land region of Mex.— Five species 

 have been described, but recent explorations have 

 brought to light some 5 or 6 additional species. While 



263. Tuberous Root of Pak-Choi. 



very like the former type mentioned above, and which 

 Hermann described as "lettuce-leaved." 



41ba, Boiss. Wild Mustakd. Tall : Ivs. pinnatifid 

 and rough-hairy: pods spreading, hairy, the lower part 

 thick and few-seeded : seeds pale brown, large. Weed, 

 from Europe. 



Sinapistrum, Boiss. Charlock. Tail : Ivs. strong- 

 toothed, or sometimes nearly lyrate : pods knotty, 

 glabrous or hairy, the upper third indehiscent and 

 2-edged, usually 1-seeded. Weed, from Europe. 



BE. Fod distinctly 4-angled. 

 nigra, Koch. Black Mustard. Pig. 268. Wide- 

 spreading and loose grower : Ivs. pinnatifid, somewhat 

 hairy : pods short and erect, glabrous ; seeds small and 

 dark brown, pungent, supplying the mustard of com- 

 merce. Cult, in Eu., but a weed in this country . — Com- 

 mercial mustard is the flour of the seeds of this species 

 chiefly, but the seeds of B. alba and probably of B. 

 juncea are sometimes used. ' l. h. B. 



BBAVOA (Bravo, Mexican botanist). Amaryllidcicea' . 

 A small genus, much resembling in some of its species 

 the tuberose (Polianthes). and considered by the writer 

 as hardly distinct from it. Stems slender, from small 

 thickened rootstocks: Ivs. mostly basal: inflorescence a 

 lax spike or raceme; fls. always in pairs more or less 

 bent or curved ; stamens 6, included within the peri- 



264. Lowrcr stem-leaf of Tuberous-rooted Mustard — 

 Brassica napiformis. 



the flowers are not as showy as the common tuberose, 

 yet the genus should be found in every choice bulb col- 

 lection. Only one species has been cultivated to any 

 extent, and even this species is not well known. As the 

 species often grow in the high mountains of Mexico, 

 they ought to be hardy in the 

 southern stretches of the tem- 

 perate zone. 



geminiSldra, Llav, & Lex. 

 Mexican Twin Flower. Stems 

 1-2 ft. high: bulbs small, l-lj^ 

 in. long, the outer scales cut 

 into fine fibers at the top: basal 

 Ivs. linear, erect, 6 lines or less 

 broad, smooth: lis. in a slender 

 raceme, reddish or orange-col- 

 ored ; lobes minute, rounded. 

 B. M. 4741. — Handsome, and 

 worthy of more attention. 



B. BulUdna, Baker. Bas-il Ivs. 

 described as lanceuliLte. l-l3^ in. 

 broad : fls. in 5 or 6 pairs, white. 

 Seemingly too near the little known 

 PoUanthes ilexicana. Not in cult. — 

 B. sessUiflijra, B. densiftdra, and B. 

 singutiflora are rare species, only 

 known from herbarium specimens. 

 The latter two, however, should 

 probably be excluded from this 

 group. J, jj. jjosE. 



BBAZIL NUT. See Bertholletia. 



BREAD FETJIT. See Artocarpus. 



BBEAD NUT is Brosimnm Alicastrum. 



BEECK, JOSEPH (1794-1873). Plate H. Boston seeds- 

 man, and author of " The Flower Garden, or Breck's Book 

 of Flowers," first published in 1851, and reissued in 1866 



265. Pe -Tsai Cabbage — Brassica Pe -Tsai. 



