IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME IV. 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



Tuberous-rooted Begonias. 



1. HISTORY. 



THE heifonia or " Elephant's Ear," has warmer regions of both hemispheres, but 



now become an exceeding-ly popular especially affecting South America and India. 



and therefore widely-cultivated genus Very few are native to Africa and none at 



of decorative plants. The generic name begonia all to Australia. By far the greater number 



was given to it two 

 centuries ago in 

 honour of M. Begon, 

 a Governor of St. 

 Domingo, who took a 

 great interest in the 

 science of botany and 

 in the cultivation ot 

 plants. In addition to 

 tlie natural species, of 

 which about 350 are 

 known, there are now 

 varieties and hybrids 

 innumerable found in 

 gardens and plant - 

 houses throughout iho 

 country. 



The family Begoni- 

 acese is formed of 

 succulent plants with 

 uneven-sided and, 



usually,alternate leaves 

 provided with stipules. 

 Two kinds of flowers 

 (male and female) are 

 borne by the same 

 individual. The male 



Begonia Boliviensis, 



of the natural species 

 have shrubby or per- 

 ennial stems, and 

 these.'asarule, require 

 in this country artifi- 

 cial heat to carry 

 them through their 

 various stages of 

 growth. There is, 

 however, a race 

 formed of several 

 species native of 

 South America that 

 can be easily grown, 

 and are cultivated in 

 the open ground in 

 this country. In 



these the primary 

 stem thickens into a 

 perennial tuberous 

 rootstock filled with 

 abundance of reserve 

 food, and from which 

 every year new flower- 

 ing shoots arise to die 

 off after the seeding 

 period. This is the 



flowers contain numerous stamens. The female extremelv handsome and useful race of so-called 



flowers have an inferior triangular ovary of "tuberous-rooted" begonias, consisting, at 



three chambers containing a large number of present, not only of the natural species, but of 



ovules ; hence the capsules are provided with a an enormous number of garden forms produced 



good supply of seeds. by crossing and re-crossing the original species 



The principal genus in the family is Bcguiiiii, and their hybrids, 



members of which are distributed through the There are six species of historic interest to 



