BALSAMODENDRON (from balsamon—an old Greek word used by Theophrastus—balm or balsam, and dendron, a tree). ORD. [Burseraceæ.] Greenhouse or stove balsamiferous trees. Flowers small, green, axillary, often unisexual; calyx four-toothed, permanent; petals four, linear-oblong, induplicately valvate in æstivation; stamens eight, inserted under the annular disk, having elevated warts between them. Berry, or drupe, ovate, acute, one to two-celled, marked with four sutures. Leaves with three to five sessile, dotless leaflets. They thrive in a compost of thoroughly drained sandy loam. Propagated by cuttings of ripe young wood, taken in April, and placed under a hand glass, in bottom heat. The species named below doubtfully belongs to this genus, as the characteristics above enumerated will show.
B. zeylanicum (Ceylon).* fl. white, three-petaled, glomerated, involucrated; racemes interrupted, downy. l. impari-pinnate, with five to seven-stalked, ovate, acute leaflets. h. 30ft. Ceylon.
BALSAM OF CAPEVI. See Copaifera.
BALSAM-TREE. See Clusia.
BAMBOO CANE. See [Bambusa.]
FIG. 203. BAMBUSA AUREA.
BAMBUSA (from bambu, the Malay name). Bamboo Cane. ORD. Gramineæ. A genus of ornamental, shrubby, greenhouse, half-hardy or hardy shrubs, each culm flowering but once. Flowers usually hexandrous. Leaves, as a rule, relatively shorter than the stems, lanceolate, and narrowed at the base. Stems jointed, flexuose, branching, usually hollow, and, when mature, of a hard, woody nature. In well drained, sheltered situations, in the open, with rich, loamy soil, some of the species make extremely graceful objects, particularly so in the more southern counties of England, and in parts of Scotland. Unless a very severe winter is experienced, they may be left without protection. Plants of all the species, however, should have the shelter of a cold greenhouse till about the end of April; when they should be gradually hardened off, and transferred to a warm, sheltered spot, such as in woodlands, by the margins of lakes, &c., as they like plenty of moisture during the summer. A good watering must be given after planting, to settle the soil. Propagation is effected by careful division of well-developed plants, which should be done in early spring, just as new growth is commencing; and it is advisable to establish the divisions in pots. See also [Arundinaria.]
FIG. 204. BAMBUSA NANA.