FIG. 301. BULBOCODIUM VERNUM.
B. vernum (spring).* fl. violet-purple, with a white spot on the claw; long, tubular, funnel-shaped, two to three from each bulb; preceding the appearance of the leaves. Very early spring. l. usually three in number, broadly strap-shaped, concave, and surrounded at the base by well-developed sheaths. Bulb black, oblong. h. 4in. to 6in. Spain, 1649. See Fig. 301. There is a variety with the leaves striped white, which is also desirable.
BULBOPHYLLUM (from bulbos, a bulb, and phyllon, a leaf; referring to the leaves issuing from the apex of the pseudo-bulbs). SYNS. Anisopetalum, Bolbophyllum, Tri-brachium. ORD. Orchideæ. Of this rather large genus of orchids but few are worth cultivating except as curiosities. Racemes long or spike-like, very rarely one-flowered or sub-umbellate; sepals usually nearly equal and free; lip jointed to the foot of the column. They are of easy culture when grown on small blocks of wood with a little moss, and suspended in a warm part of the house; the roots require a good supply of water. Propagated by dividing the pseudo-bulbs.
The following comparative few of the aggregate number of species already introduced are really all that are worth the cultivator's attention; what the botanist often regards as being very pretty, &c., does not always appear such in the eyes of the grower.
B. barbigerum (bearded).* fl., sepals and petals greenish-brown; lip covered with dark-coloured hair, and so loosely attached at the base as to be moved with the slightest breath. Sierra Leone, 1835. A curious dwarf-growing plant, with dark green leaves and pseudo-bulbs. (B. R. 1942.)
B. Beccarii (Beccari's). fl. light brownish and painted with violet; lip brown, with a violet hue, proceeding from a rhizome at the base of the leaf (just below the small pseudo-bulb), and at once turning downwards; racemes dense, cylindrical, nodding. l. three, 25in. long, 18in, across, very thick. Rhizome 20in. long. Brazil, 1879. A remarkable and gigantic climbing species; the odour of this plant is intolerably fœtid and the leaves are larger than those of any other known orchid. This species requires plenty of heat. (B. M. 6517.)
B. Lobbi (Lobb's).* fl. large; sepals and petals yellow, the upper part spotted with purple; solitary, on radical scapes. Summer. Java, 1845. (B. M. 4532.)
B. maculatum (spotted). fl. prettily spotted, l. long, obtuse, bright green. India.
B. reticulatum (netted-leaved).* fl. in pairs, white, striped inside with purple; lip spotted with the same colour. l. somewhat heart-shaped, with the nerves of a deeper green than the rest of the leaf, giving it a beautifully reticulated appearance. Brazil, 1866. Perhaps the handsomest of the genus. (B. M. 5605.)
B. saltatorum (dancing). fl. greenish-brown, lasting some time in perfection. Winter. h. 6in. Sierra Leone, 1835. (B. R. 1970.)
B. siamense (Siamese).* fl. pale yellow, striped with purple; lip yellow, streaked with purplish lines. A very pretty species, closely allied to B. Lobbi, but with longer and stouter leaves. Pseudo-bulbs ovate. Siam, 1867. Should be grown in a pot of peat and sphagnum.
BULBOSTYLES (from bolbos, a bulb, and stylos, the style). ORD. Compositæ. A. small genus of stove evergreen plants, now referred to Eupatorium.
BULBS. A Bulb is formed upon or beneath the ground, and is a swollen stock, consisting, in the first place, of a more or less fleshy disk, which below gives rise to the roots; secondly, of more or less fleshy coats, or scales, borne on the disk; thirdly, of a more or less central shoot, equally borne by the disk, protected by the coats or scales already mentioned, and formed of rudimentary leaves and flowers. In some instances, small Bulbs, called Cloves, are formed at the base of the scales of the original Bulb; these are destined to reproduce the plant. Shallot and Garlic are good examples. Bulbs are, in fact, storehouses, husbanding the strength and energy acquired by the plant during one season, for the exigencies of the next. They are classified under two sections—Scaly and Tunicated. In the former, the scales of the Bulb are imbricated, as in the Lily; in the latter, they form continuous coatings, one within the other, as in the Hyacinth, &c. In several Lilies, young Bulbs are found growing in the axils of the leaves, when they are known as Bulbils. Bulbs is also a popular term given to Dutch Flower Roots, mostly arriving here in the autumn for spring flowering. Crocus, Colchicum, Cyclamen, Gladiolus, and several others, are not Bulbs, but Corms. The flowering season varies according to the different sorts of Bulbs. The majority may be lifted and kept tolerably dry during the resting period; but they wither and become exhausted if not replanted at the proper time, thereby causing many failures. Dutch Bulbs generally arrive in September, and the best results are obtained from those potted or planted at once, although some for succession may be kept in reserve up till the beginning of November. The failure in cultivating imported Liliums and other Bulbs may be often caused by their long-continued confinement in a dry atmosphere, whereby their vitality is often almost lost. The roots of some Bulbs are nearly always, more or less, in action, and these, especially, should not be kept out of the ground for any length of time.
BULLACE. See Prunus insititia.