268 DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF BEGONIAS. 



9. B. hydrocotylifolia. Stems short, creeping on the soil in a 

 congregated mass. Leaves about two inches in breadth, almost round, 

 dark green, and shining above, crimson beneath, and covered with soft 

 brown hairs, which gradually disappear as the leaves become old. 

 Flowers pink, on loose panicles, rising six or eight inches above the 

 leaves. A very pretty species, flowering in spring, and remaining for 

 a length of time in bloom. 



e. Leaves oblique, peltate. 



10. B. albo-coccinea. Stems short, inclining to creep. Leaves 

 peltate, oblong, of a dark green colour, covered when young with soft 

 brown hairs which soon drop off, leaving them quite smooth on botli 

 sides; but still a soft substance clings to their footstalks, and gives 

 them a rust-like appearance. Flowers in loose panicles of from thirty 

 to forty blooms, elevated on footstalks about a foot and a half in 

 height; petals pure white, contrasting well with the sepals, which are 

 bright scarlet, especially on the outside. — East Indies. 



C. Stems erect, seldom branching, 

 a. Leaves digitate, equal at the base. 



11. B. muricata. Stems rough, from three to four feet in height, 

 and of a dull green colour. Leaves digitate, consisting of from six to 

 eight leaflets, three or four inches in length, hairy on both sides. 

 Flowers white, rather small, but numerous, forming a close panicle, 

 elevated on a footstalk about eight inches in height, which, like the 

 stem, is also covered with a rough hairy substance. It blooms in 

 autumn, and probably at other seasons. Syn. B. digitata. — Brazil. 



12. B. digitata in some respects resembles the preceding. Stems 

 erect, about three feet in height, of a dull crimson colour when young, 

 and thinly covered with soft white hairs. Leaves digitate, consisting 

 of from four to eight leaflets, or sometimes entire, assuming the usual 

 oblique form, smooth, and dark green above, bright crimson beneath, 

 and scattered over with a few white hairs. Flowers white, scarcely 

 different from those of B. muricata. It blooms in summer. — 

 Brazil. 



b. Leaves oblique, partially lobed. 



13. B. dichotoma. Stems strong, from four to five feet in height, 

 inclining to branch, rough and channelled. Leaves large, sometimes 

 measuring ten inches across, unequally toothed, of a dark green colour, 



