Plate 381. 

 GESNERi\ i:\o\l KNSIS. 



There are iev, plants more suitable for the decoration of the 

 greenhouse than those comprised under the term Gesnera- 

 ceous. In the summer, the Achimenes, Tydaeas, < rloxinias, etc., 

 give a continuous and showy bloom; while some of the Ges- 

 neras arc admirable for winter decoration, not only showy in 

 the brilliant colouring of the flowers, but also remarkable for 

 the richness of their foliage. 



Two of the most remarkable of these are Gesnera refulgem 

 and (listtrrr/ zrhriim, and from these Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, 

 and Co., of Exeter, have obtained the very beautiful variet) 

 which we now figure, one of those winter-flowering kinds which 

 are so eagerly coveted by all who possess a greenhouse. The 

 raisers inform us that nothing can be imagined more brilliant 

 than the masses of bloom, which are quite twelve inches 

 through in some of the plants, even although growing onlj 

 in five-inch pots. The colour of the flowers is an intense 

 orange-scarlet, with yellow throat, and, as will be observed 

 from the Plate, cluster very thickly together. The leaf is of a 

 very dark, rich velvety texture, and studded all over with 

 minute red hairs, which give it a remarkable appearance, 

 almost like plush; and according to the light in which they are 

 held, the leaves assume a different hue, in some lights having 

 a bright carmine shade across it, and in others a dull brown. 

 The value of this plant may be gathered from the fact that the 

 raisers of it have had one particular plant in bloom for lour 

 successive months during the dark months of winter, and that 

 it is not yet out of bloom (in March). It is one of those 

 plants, too, which will make an excellent one for table decora- 

 tion, as the rich dark velvety line of the leaves and the colour 



