BEGONIAS 



duced in great profusion, It is not easy to 

 imagine anything more beautiful than a well- 

 grown plant of this kind in full bloom. 



Manicata aurea is one of the most beautiful 

 of all variegated plants. Its leaves, which are 

 very large, and of a thick, waxen texture, are 

 irregularly blotched and splashed with creamy 

 white and soft yellow on a rich, dark green 

 ground. Often tints of pink and red show 

 among the other colors. This variety has a 

 most peculiar habit of growth. When young, 

 and small, the plants generally are upright, 

 but after a little they send out crooked, gnarly 

 branches which droop over the pot and twine 

 about it and themselves in snake-like fashion. 

 So suggestive of snakes are they that they 

 would be positively unpleasant to look at if 

 naked, but they are almost completely hidden 

 by their luxuriant foliage. This sort blooms 

 profusely in spring, throwing up great, spread- 

 ing panicles of small pink flowers in such quan- 

 tities that they often cover the foliage like a veil. 



Speculata is a hybrid between the Rex and 

 the tall-growing classes. It has the foliage of 

 the former and the habit of the latter. Its 

 large leaves are shaped like those of the Grape, 

 with sharp points. They appear green when 



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