BLANCHING. This process is effected for the purpose of obtaining crispness, and for converting what would, under ordinary circumstances, be a dangerous plant—in the case of Celery especially so—into a highly popular delicacy. Blanching can only be accomplished by entirely excluding the light from the plants, thus depriving the colouring matters of their power to decompose water and carbonic acid gas. It is also termed Etiolation.
BLANDFORDIA (named after George, Marquis of Blandford). ORD. Liliaceæ. A very beautiful genus of greenhouse bulbous plants, natives of Australia. Flowers solitary, on recurved pedicels; perianth funnel-shaped, six-cleft; stamens six. Leaves linear, elongate, striate; radical ones dilated, and somewhat sheathing at the base; others shorter and more distant, appearing on the flower-stem. The best soil in which to grow them is loam and peat in equal proportions, with a little rough silver sand added. They should be repotted moderately firm in the autumn, allowing good drainage, and should then be placed under the greenhouse stage, or in any other position where they will be free from water drippings. Water must only be given when dry, until they commence to grow, when it may be gradually increased, and they may be introduced into a higher temperature, if necessary, there to remain till after flowering. When the foliage is ripened off, they may be stored away until the time for repotting. Propagated by seeds and offsets, or by division of the old plants, which must be done when repotting.
B. aurea (golden).* fl. 1½in. to 2in. long; scape bearing an umbellate cluster of three to five pure golden-yellow drooping bell-shaped flowers. Summer. l. narrow, linear, keeled or channelled, from the base of which the flower-scape arises. h. 1ft. to 2ft. New South Wales, 1870. (B. M. 5809.)
B. Cunninghamii (Cunningham's).* fl. rich coppery red, the upper part yellow; about 2in. long, bell-shaped, pendulous; from twelve to twenty, terminating in a stout scape 3ft. high. June. l. linear, slightly keeled at the back, about ⅓in. broad. New South Wales. This magnificent species should have a little charcoal mixed with the soil already mentioned. (B. M. 5734.)
B. C. hybrida (hybrid). fl. red, margined with clear yellow, bell-shaped, in a dense drooping umbel.
B. flammea (fiery).* fl. dullish yellow, in dense umbel-like clusters; bracts ovate-lanceolate, stiff; perianth inversely conical. June. l. linear, bluntly keeled. h. 2ft. Australia, 1849.
B. f. elegans (elegant).* fl. crimson, tipped with yellow, large, funnel-shaped. Summer. l. long, linear-ensiform. This very handsome form is often taken for the type.
B. f. princeps (magnificent).* fl. rich orange-red externally, and bright yellow within, about 3in. long, tubular, borne on a scape about 1ft. high, slightly pendulous, and arranged near the summit. Summer. l. stiff, sub-erect, long, bright green, disposed in a distichous manner. This is a very splendid greenhouse plant, and should be in every collection. Australia, 1873. SYN. B. princeps. See Fig. 255. (B. M. 6209.)
B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. crimson, very large; bracts as long as the pedicels, the inner much the shortest. July. h. 2ft. New South Wales, 1812. (B. R. 924.)
B. intermedia (intermediate). fl. yellow, pendulous, funnel-shaped, in sixteen to twenty-flowered racemes; bracts leaf-formed. September. l. channelled, acutely keeled, scabrous on the margins. h. 1½ft. Australia.
B. marginata (margined). fl. orange-red, conical, in long pendulous racemes; bracts narrow, foliaceous, about equalling in length the pedicels. July. l. stiff, sub-erect, with scabrous margins. h. 2ft. Tasmania, 1842. (B. R. 31, 18.)
B. nobilis (noble).* fl. orange with yellow margins, on long pedicels, drooping, disposed in a terminal raceme; bracts twice as short as the pedicels. July. l. very narrow. h. 2ft. New South Wales, 1803. (B. M. 2003.)
B. princeps (magnificent). Synonymous with B. flammea princeps.
BLATTA. See Cockroaches.
BLEABERRY. See Vaccinium Myrtillus.
BLEACHING POWDER. See Chloride of Lime.
BLECHNUM (from Blechnon, the Greek name of a fern). ORD. Filices. A very attractive genus of stove and greenhouse ferns, thriving in a compost of peat, leaf soil, and loam. Sori linear, continuous, or nearly so, parallel with, and usually contiguous to, the midrib. Involucre distinct from the edge of the frond. Fronds uniform, generally pinnate or pinnatifid. Veins usually free. For general culture, see Ferns.
B. australe (southern).* cau. stout, creeping, scaly; sti. erect, 4in. to 6in. long. fronds 9in. to 18in. long, and from 2in. to 3in. broad, lanceolate, narrowed towards both ends; pinnæ numerous, the barren ones 1in. to 1½in. long, ¼in. to ⅜in. broad, linear, hastate-cordate, or auricled at the base, especially on the upper side, with a very coriaceous texture; fertile pinnæ narrower. sori in a continuous or slightly broken line, close, but not contiguous, to the midrib. South Africa, &c., 1691. Greenhouse species.
B. boreale. See Lomaria Spicant.
B. braziliense (Brazilian).* cau. erect, stout, sub-arborescent, 1ft. or more long, densely clothed at the crown with dark brown scales. sti. short, stout, densely scaly. fronds oblong-lanceolate, 2ft. to 4ft. long, 6in. to 16in. broad, narrowing downwards very gradually; pinnæ close, linear, 4in. to 8in. long, ½in. to ¾in. broad, narrowed gradually towards the point, finely toothed or undulated, connected at the base. Brazil and Peru, 1820. See Fig. 256. (H. S. F. 3, 157.) There is a very pretty variety met with in gardens under the name of Corcovadense crispum, which is not quite so strong-growing as the type, with wavy, crispy edges. They will all thrive in the cool of a stove fernery.
FIG. 255. BLANDFORDIA FLAMMEA PRINCEPS.