474 



BEGONIA 



BEGONIA 



Imiry : st. erect at first, but drooping and becoming slen- 

 der with age, 2-3 ft. high, branching: Ivs. lanceolate to 

 ovate-Janceolate, acuminate, serrate, 3-5 in. long: fls. in 

 drooping panicles, cinnabar-scarlet, long and fuchsia- 

 like; males twice as long as females. Bolivia. B.M. 

 5657. Intro, into England in 1864. It is a very useful 

 basket-plant. This species has recently been crossed 

 with some of the double and single garden forms of 

 the tuberous race (of which this species was one 

 of the ancestors), and has given rise to a pretty and 

 distinct type with long pendulous sts. and drooping 

 fls. which render them most useful as subjects for 

 baskets. B. Bertinii, Hort., is closely allied, and per- 

 haps a form of B. boliviensis. Fls. light scarlet, numer- 

 ous and large, not so pendent. Gt. 51, p. 550, desc. R.H. 

 1894, p. 247. There is a dwarf form (var. nana) of this. 

 B. Worthiana, Hort., said to be a seedling of B. bolivi- 

 ensis, with larger and shorter Ivs. and more numerous 

 and less pendent fls. B. bolidavis, Hort., is a hybrid of 

 B. Davisii and B. boliviensis. 



12. Sutherland!!, Hook. Slender and graceful, 1-2 

 ft. high, bright vinous red, from small tubers: Ivs. 4-6 

 in. long, lanceolate, lobed and serrated, green, with red 

 veins and margin; petioles slender, red: fls. numerous, 

 coppery or salmon-red. Natal. B.M. 5689. Intro, by 

 Backhouse in 1867. Of little decorative value. 



BB. Lvs. broad-ovate to cordate-ovate. 



13. Pearcei, Hook. Pubescent, branching, 1 ft. 

 high: Ivs. oblique-ovate, cordate, acuminate, 

 toothed, glabrous and velvety green above, tomen- 

 tose beneath, pale red on under surface: fls. in 

 loose, axillary panicles, large, bright yellow. Boli- 

 via; intro. from La Paz, being sent by Mr. Pearce, 

 collector for Messrs. Veitch. B.M. 5545. A vari- Sio. 

 able plant, both in habit, size, color of the fls. 

 and in the degree of the venation of the strongly 

 nerved Ivs. It is the only yellow-fld. tuberous begonia 

 in cult. It has been the chief factor in the production 

 of the hundreds of yellow, buff and orange-colored 

 garden forms. Intro, in 1865. 



14. Cldrkei, Hook. Stout and erect, 2 ft., pubera- 

 lent, the st. purplish, fleshy: Ivs. obliquely cordate- 

 ovate, serrate: fls. in pendulous racemes, abundant, 



509. Begonia Dregei ( X ! ) No. 17. 



large, bright red. Bolivia, 9,000-10,000 ft. B.M 

 5663 (as B. Veitchii), 5675. Resembles B. Veitchii. It 

 was the seed parent of Vesuvius and Emperor, two im- 

 portant and useful varieties for bedding out. Probably 



not now in cult. 

 15. Evansiana, 

 Andr. (B. ilix- 

 color, R. Br. B. 

 grdndis, Dry.). 

 Smooth: st. de- 

 ciduous, branch- 

 ing,2ft.high:lvs. 

 ovate-acute, sub- 

 cordate, lobed, 

 margins denticu- 

 late, green above, 

 under side and 

 petioles red, pe- 

 duncles branch- 

 ing, nxillary: fls. 

 numerous, flesh- 

 colored, large. 

 Java, China, 

 Japan. B. M. 

 1473. A hand- 

 some and almost 

 hardy species. 

 Intro, in 1804 to 

 Kew. Lit tie cult, 

 now. It makes a 



Eretty and free- 

 owering plant 

 for the cool 

 greenhouse in 

 Begonia tuberhybrida. Single-flowered (XM)- summer. Readily 



prop.bybulblets, 



which are produced in quantities in the axils of the 

 Ivs. after flowering, and which will give flowering plants 

 the following year. Stands some frost. 



16. gracilis, HBK. (B. bicolor, Wats. B. diversi- 

 fblia, R. Grah.). Smooth and shining, tall and st. 

 erect, seldom branched, succulent: Ivs. thinly scattered 

 along sts., almost heart-shaped, slightly hairy, lobed, 

 denticulate, ciliate: fls. on short, axillary peduncles, 

 pink. Mex. B.M. 2966. In axils of Ivs. between 

 stipules a cluster of bulblets is borne. These may be 

 gathered and sown as seeds. Along with its varieties, 

 annulata, diversifolia, Martiana, and others, it makes 

 a very beautiful summer-flowering greenhouse begonia. 

 Intro, by P. Neill, of Cannonmills, Edinburgh, in 

 1829. This species should be treated in exactly the 

 same way as the garden race of tuberous begonias as 

 to cult. The variety Martiana is a large-fld. form with 

 rose-colored fls. and frequently reaches 5 ft. in height. 

 It is a pretty and desirable greenhouse plant, producing 

 a succession of fls. for 2-3 months during the summer. 



17. Drfigei, Otto & Dietr. (B. cdffra, Meisn. B. 

 parvifdlia, Grah. B. reniftirmis, Hort.). Glabrous: st.-. 

 succulent, annual, 1-3 ft. high: from a rootstalk a 

 fleshy irregular tuber: Ivs. thin, small, oblique-ovate, 

 green, deeply serrated, reddish on the under side: fls. 

 white, small, profuse. Cape of Good Hope. B.M. 3720 

 Received at Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh in 1836 

 from Berlin. A useful free-flowering greenhouse plant. 



18. weltoniensis, Hort. (B. Sutherlandii x B. Dregei). 

 St. reddish, 1-3 ft. high: Ivs. light green, smooth, ovate- 

 acuminate, lobed, dentate, 1^-2 in. across; petiole red, 

 1-1 MS in. long: fls. pink, profuse, on short peduncle! 

 Frequently met with in cottagers' windows in England; 

 of very easy cult. Intro, by Major Clark, of Welton 

 Park, England. Var. filba, Hort., has white fls. 



19. fulgens, Lemoine. Stout: st. short: Ivs. large- 

 reniform to cordate-ovate, more or less oblique, irregu- 

 larly sinuate-toothed, sparsely hairy above and beneath, 

 dull dark green above and reddish on the under side: 



