14 THE TUBEROUS BEGONIA. 



HISTORY OF THE TUBEROUS BEGONIA. 



ft LL the varieties of the Tuberous Begonia now in existence, both single 

 ^^. and double, are * derived from six species viz. , B. boliviensis, B. 

 jig Pearcei, B. Veitchii, B. rosseflora, B. Davisii, and B. Clarkei, and of 

 these the five first-named were introduced into this country by Messrs. James 

 Veitch and Sons, of Chelsea, and by them put into commerce. 



Begonia boliviensis (see illustration, p. 15), which was the first of 

 the series introduced by the Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, was collected by 

 their traveller, Mr. Pearce, in Bolivia, and sent home in 1864. It was first 

 exhibited in public at the International Horticultural Exhibition, held at 

 Paris in May,' 1867, and in the following year, 1868, it was put into com- 

 merce. In 1867 it was figured and described in the Botanical Magazine, 

 t. 5657, as "a tuberous-rooted deciduous kind, attaining an average height of 

 2 feet. Its foliage is of a rather light green colour, of the ' fuschioides ' 

 character, and its small drooping flowers are of a bright cinnabar-scarlet 

 colour." For a long time after its introduction, its small and thin-petalled 

 flowers were much prized by horticulturists, though it was not perhaps showy 

 enough to attract the attention of the general public. 



Begonia Pearcei, the next to arrive in 1865, also came from Bolivia, 

 having been collected at La Paz by Mr. Pearce, in whose honour it was 

 fittingly named. This also is figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5545, and 

 described as being "nearly allied in botanical character to B. cinnabarina. 

 Flowers yellow, about 1 inch to 1J inches across ; leaves dark velvet-green, 

 and nearly glabrous above, dull red beneath, excepting the nervures." Its 

 clear yellow flowers and handsomely marbled foliage are characteristics still 

 found and in some cases very conspicuously in many of the varieties of 

 the present day, which have been more or less directly derived from it. 



Begonia Veitchii (see illustration, p. 17) was the next addition, made 

 in 1867, and a most valuable introduction it proved, for practically it is the 

 progenitor of the varieties which give the round flowers now so much admired. 

 This species was discovered by Mr. Pearce, near Cuzco, in Peru, at an eleva- 

 tion of 12,500 feet. It is figured in the Botanical Magazine, t. 5663, and 

 described as having "the habit of Saxifraga ciliata, immense flowers of a 

 vivid vermilion-cinnabar-red, that no colourist can produce." B. Veitchii 



