Some Flozvcrino; BcQ-onias 



305 



B. divcrsifolia. — Alas, that I should have 

 to say that I have not seen this plant in an 

 English garden for a long time ! A year or 

 two ago, when travelling in Germany, I saw 

 it in a private garden, but in very poor 

 condition. It is one of the very best for 

 winter decoration, producing in abundance 

 rich rosy-cerise flowers, and it continues in 

 perfection an immense time. 



B. iirophylla. — This is a robust growing, 

 but stemless plant of great beauty ; the leaves 

 are large ovate, acute and deeply lobed, 

 thick and fleshy, and of a peculiar glaucous 

 appearance. The racemes are dense and 

 forked, bearing all the winter long a profu- 

 sion of large snow-white flowers. 



B. BoUviensis. — A fine tuberous-rooted 

 species, which has been parent to so many 

 beautiful hybrids since its introduction. It 

 grows some two feet high. Leaves bright 

 green, whilst the flowers are of a rich, bright, 

 shining red. It is more a summer than a 

 winter bloomer. (See fig. 3, page 302.) 



B. discolor. — This fine old plant, which is 

 sometimes called B. Evansiana, I wish 

 specially for a window plant, its constitution 

 rendering it admirably adapted for that pur- 

 pose. It is a robust grower, with an erect 

 stem and broad leaves, dark green above, 

 stained with dull purple below, and bearing 

 quantities of large pure white, delicately fra- 

 grant flowers. 



B. Drcyei. — Another tuberous-rooted 

 species, which is scarcely ever out of flower. 

 It is a dwarf plant, with small dark green 

 leaves and large pure white blooms— a gem 

 for drawing-room decoration. 



B. hydrocotylifolia. — In spite of its long 

 name, this is really a charming old plant, one 

 which I have frequently seen grov/n as a 

 window decorator by careful and enthusiastic 

 amateurs. It is a dwarf spreading species, 

 having nearly round leaves, which are dark 

 green, veined with blackish green ; the scapes 

 are erect, bearing its large bright pink 

 flowers on branching panicles, and these it 

 continues to throw up in succession all the 

 winter. 



B. nitida. — This is another winter-bloom- 

 ing kind, which displays its chaste blooms to 

 great advantage in the boudoir. The leaves 

 are small, bright dark green, from between 

 which the large trusses of snow-white flowers 

 are contrasted beautifully. 



B. Kunthiana. — A fine species, which 

 may be grown for dinner-table decoration 

 with advantage, but in any state it is a 

 charming object in the dwelling-house. It 

 is erect in growth ; the leaves are oblique, 

 oblong, lanceolate, and dark polished green 

 above, whilst below they are reddish crimson ; 

 flowers large and pure white ; the whole 

 forming a charming combination of colour. 



B. Wdtonicnsis. — An admirable plant of 

 dwarf compact habit ; the foliage is small and 

 dark green, whilst the flowers are large, and 

 bright rich pink in colour. It is a garden 

 hybrid, and continues to bloom from January 

 to May. 



B. VeitcJiii. — Here we have a grand stem- 

 less species, introduced by my late friend 

 Pearce from Cuzco in Peru, where it was 

 found growing at some 12,000 feet above the 

 sea-level. The leaves are ovate-cordate, 

 some five inches across, thick and fleshy in 

 texture, and deep green in colour, except the 

 margins, which are red. The flower scape is 

 erect, bearing large vermilion red flowers, 

 measuring two inches or more in diameter, 

 which, in addition to their showy colour, are 

 deliciously fragrant. It is a tuberous-rooted 

 plant, said to be hardy. This assertion, 

 however, I cannot at present endorse. My 

 first attempt at its cultivation has been a 

 failure ; but I do not condemn it yet on that 

 account, but have now another plant in my 

 trial ground which I hope will survive the 

 ensuing winter. (See fig. 4, page 303.) 



I shall now leave this subject, hoping these 

 rough notes will lead some of my readers to 

 take up the culture of these truly charming 

 plants. Much more might be said, and 

 many more beautiful species submitted, did 

 space permit, and I may perhaps (if time 

 allows of it) return to the subject at a future 

 date. — Vive Vale. 



VOL. IX. 



