BEGONIAS 



ANDEAN OR TUBEROUS-ROOTED SPECIES. 



THE numerous garden varieties of this section of the genus are among the most 

 popular of the summer-flowering plants of the present day, and probably no race 

 has so quickly gained favour or become so widely distributed. 



This pre-eminence is due to the rich and varied colours of the flowers, the many 

 forms they take, and the ease with which they can be grown. 



To the student of the evolution of our garden plants, and to the intelligent 

 cultivator, there is not a more interesting group to study, as it is within a com- 

 paratively short period, not more than five-and-thirty years, that the work of 

 hybridizing Begonias was commenced, and the foundation laid of that magnificent 

 race common in our gardens to-day. 



The modern varieties with their large flowers have entirely ousted the early 

 hybrids from cultivation, whilst the original species from which they were derived 

 are now unfortunately seldom seen outside Botanic Gardens. 



Seven wild species were employed in the production ef the modern summer- 

 flowering Begonias, all natives of the Andes of Peru, and all, with but two excep- 

 tions, introduced to this country and distributed by Messrs. Veitch. 



The exceptions mentioned are Begonia Clarkei and B. cinnabarina, both intro- 

 duced by E. G. Henderson of Pine Apple Place. 



Of the five other species Begonia boliviensis, B. Pearcei, B. Veitchii, B. rosae- 

 flora, and B. Davisii four were introduced through Richard Pearce and the 

 last-named through Walter Davis. 



The first species, * Begonia boliviensis, was found by Pearce in the Bolivian Andes 

 in 1865, though it had previously been discovered by Weddell in the same region 

 but not introduced. 



It was exhibited for the first time at the International Horticultural Show in 

 Paris, in May 1867, on which occasion it is stated to have " attracted more of the 

 attention, both of botanists and horticulturists, than any other plant then brought 

 to that magnificent exhibition." 



The plant is occasionally met with in cultivation at the present day in summer 

 bedding, and its bright scarlet flowers and graceful drooping habit merit such 

 attention, though more brilliant effects are produced by its descendants, the 

 modern garden varieties. 



The stems of Begonia boliviensis spring from a tuberous root-stock, and attain 

 a height of from 12 to 18 in. ; the flowers produced in pairs or threes on short 

 stems in the angles of the obliquely lanceolate leaves, are bright in colour, 

 composed of four pointed segments. 



* Begonia boliviensis, Gard. Chron. 1867, p. 544, fig. ; Bot. Mag. t. 5657 : Fl. Mae 

 1867, t. 354. 



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