BATSj 



W^t Qxtzguxy ai 38atang. 



130 



which are highly gelatinous, vary from 

 black to nearly violet, but are never of 

 a deep rose as in the analogous rose-spored 

 Alga. B.moniliforme isa common inhabitant 

 of our rivulets, where it is found attached 

 to stones or roots, and never fails to obtain 

 admiration when closely examined. Most 

 of the species grow in fresh water. The 

 genera of the first group will be noticed 

 under Lemanea. [M. J. B.] 



BATSCHIA. A genus of Menispermacccc, 

 allied to Abuta a,ndAnelasma,~\n\t differing 

 from both in its three to five-nerved leaves, 

 which are almost glabrous. The genus is 

 imperfectly known. Mr. Bentham is of 

 opinion that it should be merged with 

 Abuta. The plants included in it are 

 natives of Darien. The name has been 

 applied to certain boragmaceous plantsnow 

 included under Lithospermum ; and also to 

 a genus of Leguminosce, now referred to 

 Humboldtia. [M. T. M.] 



BAUDRIER DE NEPTUNE. (Fr.) La- 

 minaria saccharina. 



BAUERACE.E. The genus Bauera, be- 

 longing to the Hydrangea I amily(or tribe of 

 Saxifragacece), has by some botanists been 

 thought to possess distinctive characters 

 sufficient to establish it as a separate family 

 under the name of Baueracew, which has 

 not, however, been generally adopted. 



BAUERA. A genus of Hydrangeacece, 

 consisting of small shrubs found in Aus- 

 tralia. They have opposite sessile trifoliate 

 leaves, with oblong undivided leaflets, 

 and no stipules ; and the flowers are hand- 

 some nodding, rose-coloured or purple, 

 axillary, solitary on rather long stalks, 

 rarely terminal and clustered : calyx with 

 six to ten segments, adhering to base of 

 ovary; corolla of six to ten petals ; stamens 

 numerous ; styles two. [J. T. S.] 



BAUHINIA. This genus of legumi- 

 nous plants (Fabacece: Cmsalpiniece) was 

 selected by Plumier to bear the name of 

 two brothers, John and Caspar Bauhin 

 (celebrated botanists of the sixteenth cen- 

 tury),in consequence of most of the species 

 having their leaves composed of two lobes, 

 which are either quite separate, or, more 

 frequently, joined together by a portion of 

 their inner margins, and which Plumier 

 thought symbolic of the united labours of 

 the two Bauhins in the cause of science. 

 The numerous species are extensively dif- 

 fused throughout the tropics, particularly 

 in Brazil and India. They are generally 

 climbers, frequently attaining a gigantic 

 size: some few, however, form trees or 

 large shrubs. Their flowers are produced 

 either singly or in racemes opposite the 

 leaves, and have a calyx with a cylin- 

 drical tube split on one side, or rarely 

 five-parted; five unequal spreading pe- 

 tals, inserted along with the stamens 

 into the top of the calyx-tube ; ten sta- 

 mens, which are either joined together 

 at the base or distinct, a portion of them 

 being sometimes barren; and a long- 



stalked ovary, which ultimately becomes a 

 many-seeded two-valved pod. 



B. tomentosa is a native of Ceylon, where 

 it forms a small tree, growing about fifteen 

 feet high, and having pale yellow flowers 

 spotted with crimson, which has given 

 rise to the superstitious idea that they are 

 sprinkled with the blood of St. Thomas, 

 hence the tree is called St. Thomas' tree. 

 Its leaves are composed of two oval, blunt- 

 topped leaflets joined together for more 

 than half their length, and hairy on the 

 under side. The dried buds or flowers, 

 and also the leaves, are employed by the 

 native Indian doctors as a remedy against 

 dysentery. 



B. Vahlii is the Maloo climber of India, 

 aplant whose gigantic shrubby stems often 

 attain a length of 300 feet, and climb over 

 the tops of the highest trees of the forest, 

 twisting so tightly round their stems that 

 they not unfrequently strangle and cause 

 death, the steins ultimately decaying and 

 leaving a sheath of climbers standing in 

 their place. The young shoots and leaves 

 are covered with a rust-coloured scurf, and 

 are furnished with tendrils. The leaves 

 are very large, often more than a foot in 

 diameter, composed of two oval-shaped 

 lobes joined together for about half their 

 length, and heart-shaped at the base. The 

 flowers are snowy-white, and arranged in 

 racemes. The exceedingly tough fibrous 

 bark of this species is employed in India 

 for making ropes, which, from their great 

 strength, are used in the construction of 

 the suspension bridges across the river 

 Jumna. The bark of another Indian spe- 

 cies is used for making the slow-matches 

 j used with native guns. 

 I B. variegata is a small tree of about twenty 

 feet in height, a native of India, China, 

 and the Molucca Islands, and now natu- 

 ralised in some of the West India Islands. 

 It has two broadly egg-shaped leaflets 

 | joined for about one-third their length : 

 j and its rosy-white flowers are produced in 

 j twos upon a forked stalk. The wood of 

 j this species is of a dark colour, and forms 

 J one of the many woods called Ebony ; the 

 bark is used medicinally in India, and also 

 for dyeing and tanning leather. [A. S.] 



BAUME A* COCHON, or A v SUCRIER. 



(Fr.) A balsaminous resin produced by Hed- 



wic/ia balsamifera. — , A V SALADE. Mentha 

 j viridis. — , COQ, or GRANDE. Balsamita 



vulvar is, or Pi/rethrum Tanacetum. — DE 

 ! CANADA. Abies balsamea. — DE PE'ROU. 



Miir«spermumperuiferum. — , DE PE'ROU 

 j FAUX. Melilotus ccerulea. — DE VANILLE. 

 j A liquid which exudes from the Vanilla. 



— DESJARD1NS. Mental rubra. — D'OR- 

 ; MEAU. A balsaminous product contained 

 | in galls borne by the Elm, Ulmus cam- 



pestris, in Italy, France, Persia, &c. 



— SAUVAGE. Mentha rotundifolia. 



! BAUMIER. (Fr.) Populus balsamifera. 



— DE GILE'AD. Abies balsamea. 



\ BAWCHEE SEED. An oil seed, the pro- 

 duce of Psoralea corylifolia. 



