BAR WOOD. An African dye wood, ■ cell, having one or more points at its apex, 

 produced by Baphia nitida. each bearing a spore. 



BARYA. A genus of begoniads, esta- 

 blished by Klotzsch, and consisting of her- 

 baceous plants, found on the mountains of 

 Peru. The staminate flowers have four, 

 and the pistillate fire sepals ; anthers 

 elliptical and short ; filaments united ; 

 style persistent, with elongated branches, 

 surrounded by an interrupted papillose 

 band, making five spiral turns ; placentas 

 stalked, with two lamella?. There is one 

 known species, namely, B. monadelpha, 

 gathered by Ruiz, under the name of 

 Begonia monadelpha, near Mufia, in Peru. 

 | The genus is named after Dr. Ant. de 

 i Bary, a patron of botany. [J. H. B.] 



BASAL. Growing at the base of any- 

 i thing, as ovules at the base of an axile 

 placenta, 



I BASELLACE^E. (Basellads.) A small 

 ' family, chiefly distinguished from Cheno- 

 \ podiacece by what has been called a double 

 ; calyx,and perigynous stamens ; but the so- 

 called outer calyx consists merely of the 

 two bracts, which are here adnate to the 

 ! perianth, instead of being free, or at some 

 1 distance from it ; and more or less perigy- 

 ; nous stamens occur also in other cheno- 

 podiaceous genera, Basellacece have there- 

 j fore been now re-united with that family 

 : as a tribe. They are mostly herbaceous 

 climbers, with more or less succulent 

 I leaves, and small inconspicuous flowers. 

 ; The perianth is usually thick and fleshy, 

 I and the style is three-cleft, whilst in true 

 1 Chenopodiacece it is more frequently (but 

 | not always) only two-cleft. There are 

 sixteen or seventeen species, all tropical, 

 and they have been distributed into six 

 i genera, of which the most important are 

 ', Basella, Boussingaultia, and Anredera. 



BASELLA. A genus of climbing plants, 

 belonging to the order or tribe Basellacece. 

 \ The simple ovary becomes converted into 

 < a membranous fruit, which is adherent to 

 I the inner part of the persistent calyx, and 

 I contains a single seed, with little or no 

 • albumen, and an embryo, coiled up spi- 

 ' rally, like a watch-spring. B. alba and B. 

 I cordifolia are cultivated in the East Indies 

 as pot herbs, and are used as a substitute 

 j- for spinach. B. rubra, a variety of B. cordi- 

 folia, yields a rich purple dye, but it is 

 difficult to fix. These plants are grown in 

 India over trellis-work,where the succulent 

 shoots and leaves form an agreeable pro- 

 j tection from the sun. Some of the species 

 ; have tuberous roots. B. alba is in cultiva- 

 ' tion, and might with advantage be more 

 frequently grown from a suspended basket, 

 as its appearance when in bloom is ele- 

 , gant. [M.T. M.] 



BASIBRACTEOLATE. A term applied 

 chit: fly to the involucre of a composite, 

 when it is surrounded at the base by a dis- 

 tinct order of bracts, as in dandelion. 

 BASIDIA. Little elevations found 

 j among fungals, consisting of a single 



BASIDIOSPORES. The spores which 

 stand upon the basidia. 



BASIFIXUS. Attached by the base. 



BASIL, BUSH. Ocymum minimum. 

 —, SWEET, or BASILICUM. Ocymum 

 Basilicum, an aromatic pot-herb. — ,WILD. 

 Calamintha Clinopodium. 



| BASILARIS. Seated at the base of any- 

 | thing. 



| BASILIC COMMUN. (Pr.) Ocymum 

 Basilicum. — DE LA CHINE. Plectran- 

 thus nudiflorus. — , PETITE. Ocymum 

 minimum. — , ROMALN". Ocymum Basili- 

 cum. 



BASIL-THYME. Calamintha Acinos. 



BASINERVED. When the ribs of a leaf 

 all spring from its base, as in most Melas- 

 tomads. 



BASISOLTJTE. A term applied to leaves 

 which, like those of Sedum and Echeveria, 

 are extended downwards below their true 

 origin. 



BASSIA. A genus of the natural order 

 Sapotacew, consisting of tropical trees, with 

 alternate entire leaves, and whitish axillary 

 stalked flowers, having a calyx of four or 

 five sepals, a fleshy corolla, tubular below, 

 I but divided at its limb with eight seg- 

 ments. Stamens numerous ; ovary termi- 

 nated by a tapering style, and containing 

 I six to eight compartments, of which three 

 j or four undergo an arrest of growth, so 

 1 that the pulpy fruit does not contain more 

 ' than three or four one-seeded cells. 

 i B. butyracea, the Indian Butter tree, or 

 Phulwara, is a native of Nepaul, and the 

 Almorah hills. From its seeds when bruised 

 and pressed is squeezed out a fatty sub- 

 stance of the consistence of hog's lard and 

 of a white colour. It is used to adulterate 

 ghee, and is considered serviceable in rheu- 

 matism, and as an application to the hair. 

 It makes good soap, and is adapted for 

 burning. It is soluble in warm alcohol, and 

 does not become rancid when kept, but is 

 completely melted at a temperature of 120°. 

 From the juice of the flowers a kind of 

 sugar is prepared. 



B.latifolia, the Mahwahtree of Bengal, 

 furnishes a hard and strong timber used 

 for the wheels of carriages, &c. The flowers 

 are sweet-tasted and are eaten raw, and 

 they are also largely made use of in the 

 distillation of an ardent spirit like whisky, 

 which is consumed in great quantities by 

 the natives of Guzerat, &c. When fresh it 

 is very deleterious to Europeans. The seeds 

 yield an oil used for lamps, in the manu- 

 facture of soap, and for culinary purposes ; 

 but it is thick, coarse, and only used by the 

 poorer classes. The Bheels are stated to 

 collect the sweetly tasting flowers of this 

 plant, and dry them to store as a staple 

 article of food; and hence, 'in expeditions 

 undertaken for the punishment or sub- 

 jection of these tribes when unruly, their 



