476 



BEGONIA 



BEGOXIA 



AA. Plant upright, often diffuse. 



B. The picture-lvd. set: plants low and tending to be com- 

 pact, the mature Ivs. usually hanging nearly verti- 

 cal, often variously colored and marked. 

 c Lvs. oblique, lobed at the base, not peltate (or only 



slightly so). 



33. Rex, Putz. Fig. 513. Very hairy: st. a short, 

 fleshy rhizome, from which spring the long-stalked 

 large ovate wavy Ivs., which are hairy and colored a 

 rich metallic green, with a zone of silvery gray: pedun- 

 cles erect; fls. large, rose-tinted; males 2 in. across, with 

 4 unequal petals; females smaller, with 5 nearly equal 



513. Begonia Rex, in its original form. No. 33. 



petals; ovary 3-angled, with 2 short and 1 long wing. 

 Assam. F.S. 12:1255-1258. B.M. 5101. This noble 

 species is the principal parent in the production of the 

 numerous ornamental-foliaged begonias. It has been 

 crossed with a few species in the first place, and then 

 hybrid seedlings have been raised again and again from 

 the progeny. Fig. 513 is a copy of a part of the original 

 figure in Flore des Serres (1857), and is given here for 

 the purpose of showing what this species was like when 

 first known to horticulturists. There are very many 

 named forms, but most of the listed kinds tend soon 

 to pass out. One of them that has persisted, because of 

 the odd quirl to the If. is Countess Louise Erdoedy (B. 

 Alexander von HumboldtxJB. argentea-cupreata). Fig. 

 514. Lvs. obliquely cordate, ovate-acute, the smaller of 

 the 2 lobes twisted in a spiral manner, with as many as 

 4 coils; upper surface silvery, with veins deep green; 

 under surface reddish, pilose. I. H. 31:516. G.C. II. 

 22:205. Intro, by F. Nemeczek, gardener to Count 

 Erdody, a Hungarian nobleman, in 1884. Other Rex 

 varieties of unknown or uncertain origin: Louise Clos- 

 son. Lvs. ovate-acuminate, lobed, veins deep purple, 

 surface blotched with deep purple bronze, metallic 

 luster very bright. Lucy Closson is very similar, but 

 more vigorous, with the blotches more numerous and 

 better distributed. Marquis de Peralta. Lvs. small, 

 margins hairy, numerous silvery spots on surface. 

 Compact, dense grower. Duchesse de Brabant. Lvs. 

 large, purple, margins and surface hairy, otherwise like 

 B. Rex. Louise Chretien. Lvs. green, with a zone of 

 glossy silver towards the center, covered with very 

 small white spots. Count Erdoedy. Silver-white, green- 

 striped along the veins, hairy; lobes twisted into a 

 spiral, hairy. 



34. xanthina, Hook. Similar to B. Rex: Ivs. large, 

 fleshy, cordate-ovate, acuminate, sinuate-ciliated, dark 

 glassy green above, purplish beneath: fls. large, almost 

 golden yellow, tinged on the back with red : caps, with 

 one large wing. India. B.M. 4683. Var. pictifdlia, 

 Hook. Lvs. with rows and spots of silvery white: fls. 

 yellowish white. B.M. 5102. Var. Lazulii, Hook. Lvs. 



not spotted, tinted with bluish purple. B.M. 5107. 

 This species is probably not now in cult. 



35. Griffithii, Hook. (B. pitta, Hort.). St.-lvs. and 

 habit as in B. Rex: Ivs. olive^green, with a broad zone 

 of gray inside a purple margin, tinged with red on the 

 under side, the basal lobes overlapping: fls. large, 

 fleshy, pink; ovary curiously crinkled along the angles. 

 Assam. B.M. 4984. Intro, by Henderson, England, 

 in 1856. Probably not now in cult. 



36. Rajah, Ridley. Fig. 515. Lvs. from the root- 

 stock, angular-orbicular, papery, the petioles and 

 under veins setose, upper surface smooth and richly 

 mottled from the green ribs and the brown or brown- 

 red intermediate spaces, the margins serrate and 

 setose: fls. small, pink, on hispid peduncles that stand 

 about as high as the Ivs. Malaya. G.C. III. 16:213. 

 A distinct and beautiful hothouse species, deserving 

 of popularity. Said erroneously to be a garden hybrid. 



37. Augustinei, Hemsl. A dwarf, compact species, 

 allied to B. Rex but devoid of color in the Ivs. as in that 

 species: sts. branching freely, short-jointed: Ivs. erect 

 or spreading, elliptic or ovate, 3-6 in. long, reddish 

 green above and below, covered on both sides with red 

 hairs; petiole red, terete, provided with dense white 

 hispid hairs: whole plant presenting a mixture of white 

 or red hairs: infl. erect, few-fld.; fls. pink. China. 

 Differs from B. xanlhina in its rough rugose hairy Ivs. 

 and rose-pink fls. 



38. dsedalea, Lem. (B. strigilldsa, Dietr.). Hairy, 

 Rex-like: st. a short, thick rootstock: Ivs. large, green, 

 ovate-acuminate, cordate, margins slightly serrate and 

 beset with long reddish hairs, surface covered with a 

 peculiar network of russet-brown: peduncles spotted 

 and slightly hairy; fls. white, tinged with pink. Mex. 

 I. H. 8:269. A handsome foliage plant, not very 

 widely known. 



39. speculata, Hort. Probably a hybrid: st. a short, 

 thick rhizome: Ivs. broadly ovate, acuminate, cordate, 

 lobed half way down the blade, on long, hairy petioles, 

 dull green, rough, speckled with gray, hairy, reddish 

 on the under side, veins very prominent, light green: 

 fls. on long, hairy peduncles, pink-white, males and 

 females both with 2 petals: caps, green, with small rod 



514. Begonia Countess Louise Erdoedy ( X ?$). No. 3i 



spots. Origin uncertain, although apparently com- 

 mon in cult, in this country. A hardy and useful 

 begonia for conservatory and window-garden. 



40. decora, Stapf. A small species of compact habit, 

 allied to B. Rex: rhizome short, reddish green: Ivs. 3- 

 in. long, ovate, rich reddish brown with prominent 

 yellow-green veins: whole plant covered with thick- 

 set papilla and short hairs: fls. pink, comparatively 

 large for so small a plant. Perak This plant thrives 

 best in a stove. It is readily crossed with many other 

 species, notably with B. Rex, and the offspring are 

 amongst the finest ornamental foliage plants. 



