B. Alicastrum. fl., catkins globose, stalked, twin, axillary. fr. coated. l. ovate-lanceolate. h. 6ft. Jamaica, 1776.
BROUGHTONIA (named after Mr. Arthur Broughton, an English botanist). ORD. Orchideæ. A very compact-growing stove evergreen, allied to Lælia, succeeding best if suspended from the roof on a block of wood, with a little moss; it requires a free supply of heat and water when in a growing state. Propagated by dividing the plant. The colour of the flowers is very distinct.
B. sanguinea (blood-coloured).* fl. blood-coloured, rather large, disposed in a terminal panicle; scape divided; column distinct, or at the very base united with the unguiculate lip, which is lengthened at the base into a tube, connate with the ovarium. Summer. l. twin, oblong, seated on a pseudo-bulb. h. 1½ft. Jamaica, 1793. (B. M. 3076.)
BROUSSONETIA (named after P. N. V. Broussonet, a French naturalist, who wrote numerous works on Natural History). ORD. Urticaceæ. Ornamental fast-growing, deciduous, Mulberry-like trees. They require rather good open garden soil, and prove hardy in situations which are not very exposed. Propagated by suckers and cuttings of ripened wood, inserted in autumn, in a cool house; and by seeds, sown when ripe, or kept till the following April.
B. papyrifera (paper-bearing).* The Paper Mulberry. fl. greenish, diœcious; males in pendulous, cylindrical catkins, each flower in the axil of a bract; females in peduncled, axillary, upright globular heads. May. l. simple, alternate, exstipulate, variously lobed or entire, hairy, large. h. 10ft. to 20ft. China, 1751. There are several varieties, differing in the shape and character of the leaves. (B. M. 2358).
BROWALLIA (named in honour of John Browall, Bishop of Abo, who defended the sexual system of Linnæus against Siegesbeck, in a book entitled "Examen epicriseos," &c., 1739). ORD. Scrophularineæ. A genus of handsome shrubs or herbs. Flowers blue or white, axillary and terminal; corolla salver-shaped, resupinate from the contortion of the peduncle; tube fifteen-nerved, ventricose at top. Leaves alternate, stalked, ovate in outline. They thrive best in a rich, open, sandy soil. To have strong plants in bloom by Christmas and after, seeds should be sown in July, in pans or pots of light rich sandy soil, and kept in a close frame, or hand light, where they can be shaded till germination takes place. When large enough to handle, the seedlings may either be pricked out, three in a pot, or potted singly, according to the size of the specimens required. In the former way, they form fine masses for conservatory or greenhouse decoration, or to cut from; and in the latter, they are very suitable for window recesses, &c. After potting, they should be stood in a pit or frame, and syringed every morning and evening, to ward off attacks of insect pests. An abundance of well-diluted liquid manure is required as soon as the flower-buds appear. To keep the plants dwarf and bushy, it will be needful to stop them about three times during the remainder of the summer and autumn, keeping as near the glass as possible; they should be housed by the end of September. These elegant little greenhouse annuals are unrivalled for affording choice, neat sprays for bouquets during the winter and early spring months, or for growing as pot plants, to furnish warm greenhouses or sitting-room windows. Many of the species and varieties are largely employed for summer decoration of the flower garden, with highly satisfactory results; for this purpose, seeds should be sown in gentle heat early in spring, and the plants transferred to the flower borders late in June, or early in July, having been previously encouraged in pots, and well hardened off.
B. abbreviata (shortened). fl. light red; pedicels shorter than the calyx; calyx campanulate, with teeth as long as the tube. l. oval, hairy when young, quite glabrous when mature. 1852. (R. G. 94.)
B. demissa (low).* fl. of a bright but pale blue colour, sometimes red or purple; peduncles axillary, one-flowered, downy. June. l. ovate-oblong, acuminated, oblique at the base. h. 6in. to 1ft. Panama, 1735. (B. M. 1136.)
FIG. 283. BROWALLIA ELATA, showing Habit and Flower.
B. elata (tall).* fl. deep blue; calyx beset with glandular hairs; peduncles axillary, one or many-flowered. July. l. oval, acuminated. h. 1½ft. Peru, 1768. Of this extensively-grown species there are two varieties, one with white flowers, and the other, grandiflora, with pale blue, both of which are well worth growing. See Fig. 283. (B. M. 34.)
B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl., corolla with a greenish-yellow tube, which is clothed with glandular villi, and a white or very pale lilac limb; peduncles one-flowered, axillary, racemose at the tops of the branches. July. l. ovate, acute, attenuated into the petioles at the base. h. 1ft. to 3ft. Peru, 1829. (B. M. 3069.)
B. Jamesoni (Jameson's).* fl. bright orange, with lighter-coloured throat, tubular. June. h. 4ft. New Grenada, 1850. This species has been recently re-introduced, after having been lost to cultivation for over thirty years. (B. M. 4605.)
B. Roezli (Roezl's). fl. large, either of a delicate azure blue, or white, with a yellow tube. Spring to autumn. l. shining green. An exceedingly pretty species, having flowers double the size of any other, and forming a dense compact bush, 1½ft. to 2ft. in height. Rocky Mountains.