BRACHYSEMA (from brachys, short, and sema, a standard; the standard of the flower is very short). ORD. Leguminosæ. Elegant procumbent or climbing greenhouse, evergreen shrubs. Racemes axillary and terminal, few-flowered. Leaves alternate, oval or ovate, entire, mucronate, silky on the under surface. They thrive in a compost of peat, leaf soil, and loam, in equal proportions, made porous, if necessary, by the addition of sand. Increased by cuttings, made of half-ripened shoots in summer, placed in sandy soil, under a bell glass, in a gentle bottom heat; or by layers. Seeds may be sown in March, in heat. Brachysemas require thorough drainage, whether grown in pots or planted out. B. latifolium does best under the latter treatment, when it forms a magnificent climber for pillars or the roof.

THE GIANT WATER LILY (VICTORIA REGIA).

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B. lanceolatum (lanceolate-leaved). fl. rich scarlet, with the margin of the vexillum white, red at the disk, with a large yellow spot in the centre, each about 1in. long, disposed in axillary, sub-compound racemes. l. opposite, rarely alternate, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, entire, silky white beneath. h. 3ft. Swan River, 1848. (B. M. 4652.)

B. latifolium (broad-leaved).* fl. crimson-scarlet, large; vexillum oblong-ovate. April. l. ovate, flat, silky beneath. New Holland, 1803. A handsome climber. (B. R. 118.)

B. melanopetalum (black-petaled). Synonymous with B. undulatum.

B. undulatum (undulated).* fl. deep violet-maroon, solitary or twin; vexillum oblong, cordate, convolute, and bluntish above. March. l. oblong-ovate, mucronate, undulated. New South Wales, 1820. A tall subscandent plant. SYN. B. melanopetalum. (B. R. 642.)

BRACHYSPATHA (from brachys, short, and spatha, a spathe; the spathe is much shorter than the spadix). ORD. Aroideæ. Stove tuberous perennial, allied to, and requiring the same cultivation as, [Amorphophallus] (which see).

B. variabilis (variable).* fl. exhaling an abominable fœtor, which is, however, of very short duration; spathe much shorter than the spadix, greenish-purple, sharply acuminate, and many-nerved; spadix whitish, with female flower at the base, and above contiguous to them are the males without any intermediate neutral flowers; anthers orange red; the naked apex of the spadix is very long, wrinkled, and pitted on the surface. l. solitary, 18in. across; the spotted petiole divides at the top into three main divisions, each of which is again forked and deeply pinnately cut; the segments alternate, sessile, or decurrent, very unequal in size, ovate or oval-lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, shining. h. 3ft. India, 1876. (G. C. 1876, 129.)

BRACHYSTELMA (from brachys, short, and stelma, a crown; in reference to the short coronal processes of the flowers). ORD. Asclepiadaceæ. Extremely curious little suffruticose, tuberous, twining, greenhouse perennials. Corolla campanulate, having angular sinuses; corona simple, five-cleft, lobes opposite the anthers, simple on the back. Leaves opposite, membranous. They thrive best in fibry loam. Propagated by cuttings, which will root in sandy soil, in heat; also by divisions of the root.

B. Arnotti (Arnott's). fl. brown, green. l. in opposite pairs, nearly sessile, crisped, ovate, dull green above, densely grey, pubescent beneath. h. 4in. South Africa, 1868. (Ref. B. i., 9.)

B. Barberæ (Mrs. Barber's). fl. dingy purple, speckled with yellow. August. l. large, linear-oblong, acute. h. 6in. South Africa, 1866. (B. M. 5607.)

B. ovata (ovate-leaved). fl. yellowish-green. l. ovate, shortly-stalked, pubescent. h. 1ft. South Africa, 1872. (Ref. B. 226.)

B. spathulatum (spathulate-leaved). fl. green. June. l. spathulate, oblong, hairy. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1826. (B. R. 1113.)

B. tuborosum (tuberous). fl. purple. June. l. linear-lanceolate, ciliate. h. 1½ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1821. (B. M. 2343.)

BRACKEN, or BRAKE FERN. See Pteris aquilina.