BERZELIA (named in honour of Berzelius, a celebrated Swedish chemist). ORD. Bruniaceæ. Very pretty little greenhouse evergreen shrubs. Heads of flowers naked, with three bracts at the base of each; usually crowded at the tops of the branches. Leaves short, somewhat trigonal, imbricate or spreading. They require a mixture of peat, loam, and sand, with thorough drainage and moderately firm potting. Young cuttings root freely in sand, under a bell glass, in gentle heat.
B. abrotanoides (Abrotanum-like). fl.-heads white, the size of a filbert, terminal, crowded, sub-corymbose; bracts clavate, green, smooth, ustulate at the apex. May to July. l. ovate, ustulate at the apex, smooth, spreading, on short petioles. h. 1½ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1787. (L. B. C. 355.)
B. lanuginosa (woolly).* fl.-heads white, about the size of a pea, at the tops of lateral branches, disposed in a fastigiate panicle; bracts spathulate, callose at the apex. June to August. l. triquetrous, spreading, callose at the apex, rather hairy. Branches erect, villous when young. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1774. (L. B. C. 572.)
BESCHORNERIA (in honour of H. Beschorner, a German botanist). ORD. Amaryllidaceæ. Greenhouse evergreen succulents, allied to Littæa and Fourcroya. Perianth deeply six-parted; segments linear spathulate, tubulose-connivent, often spreading at the point; stamens six, about as long as the perianth. For culture, &c., see [Agave] and [Aloe].
B. bracteata (bracteate). fl. at first green, turning yellowish-red when mature; panicle 2ft. to 3ft. long; branches many-flowered and corymbose, subtended by large scariose reddish bracts. l. in a dense rosette, 12in. to 18in. long, thin, glaucous green with scabrous margin. h. 5ft. to 6ft. Mexico. See Fig. 247. (B. M. 6641.)
B. Decosteriana (Decoster's). fl. green, tinged with red, pendulous, bracteate; panicle 2ft. to 3ft. long, inclined, with numerous bracts. l. numerous, spreading, 18in. to 24in. long, by 1in. to 1½in. broad; edges minutely serrulate. h. 8ft. Mexico, about 1880.
B. Tonelii (Tonel's).* fl. tubular, 2½in. long, drooping, pedicellate, dark blood-red below and down the centre, the rest very bright verdigris green; panicle 2ft. long, slender, inclined; bracts several to each fascicle of flowers; scape 4ft. high, red-purple. l. few, spreading, 15in. to 20in. long, by 2½in. broad, acuminate and keeled beneath towards the top, minutely serrulate. Mexico, 1872. (B. M. 6091.)
FIG. 247. BESCHORNERIA BRACTEATA.
B. tubiflora (tube-flowered). fl. greenish-purple, nutant, fascicled, bracteate; fascicles remote, secund; scapes erect, long, simple. May. l. radical, linear, channelled, recurved, spinosely denticulate. h. 6ft. Mexico, 1845. (B. M. 4642.)
B. yuccoides (Yucca-like). fl. bright green, pendent, racemose, with rich rosy-red bracts; scapes slender, coral-red, simple. May and June. l. radical, thickish, lanceolate, acute, 1ft. to 1½ft. long. h. 4ft. Mexico.
BESLERIA (named in honour of Basil Besler, an apothecary at Nuremberg). SYN. Eriphia. ORD. Gesneraceæ. Very pretty stove sub-shrubs, usually erect, branched. Peduncles axillary, few-flowered. Leaves opposite, petiolate, thickish; nerves and veins very prominent beneath. Stems sub-tetragonal. A light rich earth, or a mixture of sand, loam, and peat, and a moist atmosphere, are necessary for successful cultivation. Beslerias may be increased by cuttings, which root readily in heat.
B. coccinea (scarlet-berried).* fl. yellow; peduncles axillary bearing three to six flowers in an umbel at top; bracts two, at the division of the common peduncle, orbicularly cordate, toothed, scarlet. l. ovate, glabrous, stiff, a little toothed. Guiana, 1819. Climbing shrub. (A. G. 255.)
B. cristata (crested). fl., corolla yellowish, hairy outside; peduncles axillary, solitary, one-flowered; bracts cordate, toothed, sessile, scarlet. June. l. ovate, serrated. Guiana, 1739. Climbing shrub.
B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. large, campanulate, spotted with red; peduncles axillary, elongated, many-flowered. l. ovate-oblong, acuminated, crenated, densely pilose above, villous beneath, as well as on the branches. h. 3ft. Brazil.
B. Imrayi (Imray's). fl. rather small, yellow, in axillary whorls. l. large, lanceolate, serrate, glabrous. Stems quadrangular. Dominica, 1862. Herbaceous perennial. (B. M. 6341.)
B. incarnata (flesh-coloured-berried).* fl., corollas purplish; tube very long, ventricose; lobes of limb reflexed, roundish, unequal, fringed; peduncles axillary, solitary, one-flowered. l. oblong, crenated, tomentose on both surfaces. h. 2ft. Guiana, 1820. Herbaceous perennial.
B. violacea (purple-berried). fl. purple, small; corolla with a curved tube and spreading limb; peduncles racemosely panicled, terminal. Berry purple, edible. l. ovate, acute, quite entire, stiff. Guiana, 1824. Climbing shrub. (A. G. 254.)
BESOM, or BROOM. Birch-brooms are best for garden purposes, and are generally used. The most suitable for paved yards are those made of the common Ling (Calluna vulgaris). Those made of bass fibres are frequently used on paths, for which they are very suitable, but their expensiveness prevents them being generally employed. Whatever material is used in its composition, a Besom will last much longer if soaked in water for some time before using.