Plants in the Hortus
Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.
Bouvardia laevis M.Martens & Galeotti
Frost tender, branching shrub with ovate leaves, to 11cm long and tubular red or yellow flowers, to 3cm long. To 1.5m. [RHSD]. Considered by some to be a synonym of Bouvardia flava Decne. which see, but the latter is usually described as a small shrub. [Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden v.5, 1968, p.7].
Bouvardia ternifolia (Cav.) Schldl. var. splendens
See Bouvardia ternifolia (Cav.) Schltdl. for a description of the species. ‘Bouvardias are grown in the greenhouse and were once very popular. Many of the old florists kinds are supposed to be hybrids.’ [Hortus Second]. Scarlet flowers. [JD].
Bouvardia ternifolia (Cav.) Schltdl.
Frost tender, variable, erect, branching shrub with opposite or whorled, ovate to lance-shaped leaves and dense, terminal corymbs of tubular scarlet flowers from late summer to winter. Numerous cultivars and hybrids exist. [See Bouvardia ternifolia (Cav.) Schldl. var. splendens]. To 90cm. [RHSE, Hortus].
Brachychiton acerifolius (A.Cunn. ex G.Don) Macarthur & C.Moore
Frost tender, open, evergreen or briefly deciduous tree with glossy, leaves, either simple and ovate, or 3- to 5-lobed, often on the same plant, and large, terminal, panicle-like cymes of bowl-shaped, bright coral-red flowers, to 2cm across, in summer, usually before the leaves. To 35m. [RHSE, Hortus, Beadle].
Brachychiton australis (Schott. & Endl.) A.Terracc.
A bottle-shaped tree when mature, deciduous when flowering, with 5-lobed leaves, to 25cm, and short racemes of cup-shaped white flowers, to 2.5cm long. [REF].
Brachychiton bidwillii Hook.
Variable frost tender shrub, deciduous when flowering, with ovate leaves, to 25cm, often 3- or 5-lobed, axillary clusters of tubular red or crimson flowers, sometimes yellow inside. To 4m. [RHSD, Hortus].
Brachychiton populneus (Schott & Endl.) R.Br.
Densely branched evergreen tree with lustrous, ovate leaves, varying from entire to 5-lobed on the same plant, and terminal and axillary, panicle-like cymes of saucer-shaped, green, cream or pink flowers, to 1.5cm across, spotted with brown or red, in summer. To 20m. [RHSE, Beadle, Blomberry, Hortus].
Brachychiton rupestris (Mitch. ex Lindl.) K.Schum.
Frost tender, slow growing tree with simple, lance-shaped leaves, in which the base of the tree becomes greatly enlarged. It has small, cream, bell-shaped flowers. To 20m. [RHSD, Wrigley, Blombery].
Brachystelma tuberosum R.Br.
Frost-tender, tuberous-rooted, succulent perennial with lance-shaped leaves, sparsely branched stems, to 10cm, bearing up to 4 star-shaped flowers, to 2cm across, the tubes green on the outside, spotted purple-brown and yellow inside, with purple-brown lines, with dark purple-brown lobes. [RHSD].
Breynia nivosa Small
Evergreen shrub with zigzagged pink or red stems with dark green leaves, to 5cm long, with bold white variegation. To 1m. [RHSD, Hortus].
Briza maxima L.
Fully hardy, loosely tufted, erect annual grass with attractive nodding flowers. To 45cm. [RHSE, Hortus].
Broussonetia papyrifera Vent.
Large dioecious shrub or tree with woolly shoots and leaves, variable toothed leaves. The female plant is quite attractive with its fruit aggregated into a small orange, woolly mass. To 10m or more under favourable conditions. There are a number of garden forms. [RHSD, Hilliers’, Hortus].
Brugmansia 'Knightii'
Brugmansia x candida Pers. is a Brugmansia aurea Lagerh. x Brugmansia versicolor Lagerh. hybrid. Frost tender open shrub or tree with oblong-elliptic, wavy-margined leaves and trumpet-shaped, night-scented flowers. The cultivar ‘Knightii’ has double (‘hose-in-hose’) white flowers to 30cm long, from summer to autumn. To 5m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Brugmansia arborea (L.) Sweet
Frost tender open shrub or tree with robust stems, large, ovate, often coarsely-toothed leaves, and trumpet-shaped, scented white flowers, to 15cm long, from spring to autumn. To 4m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Brugmansia hybrid unidentified
Unidentified Brugmansia hybrid. No description is extant.
