BEGONIA 



BEGOXIA 



473 



crenate: fls. all male except the terminal one of each 

 branch of the cyme, in terminal few-fld. cymes, bright 

 rose G.C. II. 15:8. B.M. 6555. Gn. 21:163; 49:426 

 (as B. Gtoire de Lorraine). J.H. III. 51:317. R.H. 

 1906, p. 130; 1909, p. 426. A.F. 13:587, 588. Bulbs or 

 semi-tubers were brought from the hot sandy island of 

 Socotra by I. B. Balfour, and grown at Kew in 1880. 

 The species was first described in Gardeners' Chronicle 



in 1881, and in the 

 same year in Bo- 

 tanical Magazine. 

 See also Balfour, 

 Botany of Socotra, 

 p. 102, 1888 (Vol. 

 31, Roy. Soc., Edin- 

 burgh). An early 

 study of the nature 

 of tie bulbs by 

 Duchartre will be 

 found in Bull. Soc. 

 Bot. de France, 12 

 (1885). This ex- 

 cellent plant re- 

 quires to be grown 

 in a light position 

 in a stove to develop 

 at its best. The 

 bulbs should be 

 shaken put of the 

 old soil in Sept. or 

 Oct. and potted up 

 ' in a light soil, rich in 

 humus, and placed 

 in heat and mois- 

 ture, and, when well 

 established, should 

 be liberally supplied with manure-water. The fls. 

 appear during the winter months, after which the 

 plant dies down, forming a number of large resting 

 buds or bulbs; the pots should then be placed in an 

 intermediate temp, and be kept nearly dry until the 

 following growing period comes round. On account of 

 its habit of producing fls. in winter, this species has 

 been largely used by the hybridist in the production 

 of a race of winter-flowering begonias, of which there 

 are many named varieties. 



Following are leading Socotrana derivatives: 



2. Gloire de Lorraine (B.aocotranaxB.Dregei). Fig. 505. One 

 of the finest hybrid begonias ever raised: Ivs. small, nearly regular, 

 pure green: fls. almost exclusively male, 4-petaled, large, borne in 

 broad panicles, covering the whole superior part of the plant, rose- 

 colored, not deciduous. Gt. 42, p. 111. A.F. 12:842. G.F. 5:247. 

 Although B. socotrana is semi - bulbous and B. Dregei has a thickened 

 rhiiomo, the hybrid forms show neither, but the base of the st. 

 throws out many shoots, which can be separated and insure the 

 multiplication of the plant. Intro, by Lcmoine in 1892. There 

 are several forms of this plant now in cult. Rothschilds variety has 

 larger and darker colored fls. than the type. Turnford Hall is a 

 form with white fls. Caledonia also has white fls. but is far inferior 

 as a garden plant to that of Turnford Hall. Glory of Cincinnati, a 

 form with very lasting large satiny pink fls., is a seedling from B. 

 socotrana X a sport of Gloire de Lorraine; it bloomed first in 

 Dec., 1908, and was intro. to trade in 1910 (J. A. Peterson). 



3. Gloire de Sceauz (B. socotrana X B. subpellata). Fig. 506. 

 Plant stout, half shrubby, erect, vigorous, compact, will form a 

 plant as much as 8 ft. high in a year with good cult, and produce 

 quantities of its large rose-colored fls. over a period of several 

 months: Ivs. dark metallic green, thick, large, red beneath, veins 

 red above, suborbicular, slightly oblique: fls. prof use, beautiful rose- 

 pink, shiny, females the last fl. on the cyme. Fls. from Dec. till Mav 

 U.H. 1.SM:S10. G.F. 7:185. Intro, in 1885. 



4. Triomphe de Lemoine (B. socotrana x B. Roezlii). St. her- 

 baceous, spreading, then erect and branching into numerous flower- 

 ing branches: Ivs. large, coriaceous, orbicular, somewhat oblique, 

 margins slightly cenerous, 6 in. diam.: fls. in dichotomous cymes 



507. Begonia Davisii (XK). No. 6. 



are withered, a rare occurrence in begonias. Another hybrid from 

 the same parent is Triomphe de Nancy, with fls. rich yellow in the 

 center, double, and the outer petals of a paler hue. Intro, 1888. 

 ">. incomparabilis, Hort. (B. socotrana X a garden tuberous 

 form). Lvs. large, with the showy, well-formed orange-red fls. 

 Btamling well above them. K.B. 33:00. 



II. TUBEROUS BEGONIAS, the plant passing the winter 



as a dormant tuber Nos. 6-30. 



A. Plant stemless: Ivs. springing directly from the crown 

 or tuber. 



6. Davisii, Veitch. Fig. 507. Lvs. ovate-cordate, 

 dull green, thinly hairy, above and below, upper side 

 lighter veined and under side red, petiole short: pedun- 

 cles, pedicels and fl.s. bright red. Peru. B.M. 6252. 

 F.M. 1876:231. G.C. II. 15:669. A favorite with 

 hybridists, because of its rich coloring and its free flow- 

 ering. It has given rise to numerous dwarf, erect-habited 

 garden forms, with small but brightly colored fls. 



7. rosaefldra. Hook. Stout: petioles, scapes, bracts, 

 and stipules bright red: Ivs. green, 2-4 in. wide, on stout, 

 hairy petioles, 2-6 in. long, orbicular, reniform, con- 

 cave, margins lobed, red, toothed: fls. 2 in. across, 

 rose-red. Andes of Peru, 12,000 ft. Intro, in 1867. 

 B.M. 5680. Light-colored seedlings of this species 

 gave rise to Queen of Whites, put into commerce in 

 1878, and apparently an important factor in subse- 

 quent garden forms of the same color. The species 

 itself is probably not now in cult. 



8. Froebelii, A. DC. More or less hairy: Ivs. numer- 

 ous, cordate, acuminate, green, covered with fleshy, 

 purplish hairs: fls. in tall, lax, drooping, branching 

 cymes, brilliant scarlet, large. Late autumn and 

 winter. Ecuador. J.H. III. 32, p. 33. Journ. Roy. 

 Hort. Soc. 19, p. cxcii. Gn. 12, p. 376. Intro, about 

 1872-3 by Otto Froebel of Zurich. A beautiful flower- 

 ing plant, useful for conservatory work in winter. Var. 

 vernalis, Hort., hybrid (B. FroebeliixB. Dregei), simi- 

 lar to type; intro. by Deleuil in 1880. Var. nana, 

 Hort. Very dwarf: fls. dark scarlet. 



9. Veitchii, Hook. Loosely hairy: st. very short or 

 practically none, thick, fleshy, green: Ivs. orbiculate, 

 cordate, lobed and incised, margins ciliate, green, 

 principal veins radiating from a bright carmine spot 

 near the center, under side pale green; petiole thick, 

 terete pilose: fls. 2J4 in. diam., cinnabar-red: caps, 

 smooth, unequal wings. Peru, 12,000 ft. B.M. 5663. 

 F.S. 22:2326. One of the progenitors of the tuberous 

 race. Intro. 1867. Probably not now in cult., but a 

 beautiful species. 



10. octopetala, L'Her. (B. grandiflbra, Knowl. & 

 West). Lvs. on long, succulent downy petioles \Y Z ft. 

 long, cordate, deeply lobed and serrated, bright green: 

 fls. seldom produced 



in cult., greenish 

 white, in corymbs, 

 males with 8 or 9 

 petals 2 in. across, 

 females smaller and 

 generally fewer. 

 Intro, to Glasgow 

 from Lima, Peru, 

 in 1835. B.M. 3559. 

 F.S. 20:2056-7. 

 A.F. 4:225 (var. 

 Lemoinei). This 

 species is of little 

 or no horticul- 

 tural value. 



AA. Plant with 



st. (not scapes) 



evident and 



more or less 



upright, usu- 

 ally branching. 

 B. Lvs. narrow, 



lanceolate to 



ovate-lanceolate. 



11. boliviensis, 



A. DC. Fig. 508. ^ 



Plant sparsely 508. Begonia boliviensis (X!c). No. 11. 



