THE GENUS HILDEBRANDIA. 13 







their axils, and these branches terminate in little rosettes of similarly petaloid 

 segments. The whole axis elongates before the flowers drop, and the secondary 

 pedicels elongate so that the truss of the originally compact flower becomes a 

 raceme of little flowers. 



No less interesting is the phenomenon presented by the doubling of female 

 flowers in many of the varieties. Not only does the normally inferior ovary 

 become superior, but the carpels of which it is composed spread out flat, so that 

 the placentas bearing myriads of small white ovules become exposed, while the 

 upper part of the petaloid carpel may be scarlet, or of some other brilliant hue. 

 No seeds can, of course, be developed by these monstrous doubles. A third 

 remarkable type is represented by the variety Viridiflora, which is not the only 

 instance of the kind by any means. The segments are shaped like ordinary 

 leaves, being similarly lobed and toothed at the margin, and long before the 

 flower drops they become quite green. Some single flowers even are crenated or 

 fimbriated at the margin, resembling the leaves in this respect, although they 

 retain their petaloid character and colour to the last. The narrow leaves of B. 

 boliviensis are characteristic of most of Messrs. Laing's doubles. 



The beautiful double varieties of Messrs. H. Cannell and Sons, Swanley, 

 judging from the prevailing character of the broad leaves, and a slightly different 

 habit, have evidently been derived from B. Veitchii, or others of the same type, 

 such as B. rosseflora and B. Clarkei. In some of their doubles the true sepals are 

 much longer than those of the central rosette, forming a cross-shaped guard. In 

 others the whole flower consists of a number of rosettes collected together in one 

 flower in a similar yet slightly different way to those mentioned above ; while a 

 third type presents still more remarkable characters. A double flower primarily 

 male has small outer or true sepals, while from the axils of two of these, two- 

 stalked, single, female flowers are produced right and left of the originally male 

 flower, so that there would seem to be practically no limit to variation. 



THE GENUS HILDEBRANDIA. 



THIS is the only genus other than Begonia that belongs to the family. The 

 flowers are regular or nearly so, consisting of five broadly ovate, acute sepals, and 

 five small spathulate petals alternating with them. The stamens are numerous 

 and free. The ovary is hemispherical, without wings, free at the apex, that is, 

 partly superior and imperfectly five-celled, with five deeply two-lobed placentas, 

 numerous small ovules, and five bilobed or forked styles. There are numerous 

 small stalked glands springing from the sepals of the female flowers. The fruit 

 is a capsule, bursting at the apex and between the sepals, similarly to that of the 

 Mignonette. H. sandwichensis, a native of the Sandwich Islands, and the only 

 species known, is a fleshy, hairy-stemmed, branching herb, with cordate-orbicular, 

 lobed leaves, and axillary cymes of small whitish flowers. It is botanically 

 interesting, but of no horticultural value. 



