140 PACIFIC STATES FLORAL CONGRESS. 



The second large division of the fibrous-rooted section, i. e., those 

 with their leaves smooth, or only a few scattered hairs on the upper 

 surface or on the margins, is a very large one, and . comprises most 

 of the begonias cultivated in the greenhouse, garden, and home. 



Semperflorens. B. Semper florens, Link and Otto, is an exceed- 

 ingly variable species from six to eighteen inches high, with pale, 

 glossy-green, smooth leaves, tinged with red on the midrib and petiole. 

 The flowers are rose-colored or white, and the capsule green, tinged 

 with red. An endless number of garden forms has been produced 

 from this species, and for bedding in suitable climates, it can not 

 be excelled. Some of the most important forms and varieties are 

 Sieberiana, atropurpurea compacta, or Vernon, Fairy Queen, Duchess 

 of York, Crimson Gem, Duchess of Edinburgh, Reading Snow flake, 

 Diadem, Illustration, Albatross, elegantissima, Mastodonte, Goliath, La 

 Prance, Obelisque, etc. These varieties can be very easily grown from 

 seed. B. semperflorens has also been crossed with B. Schmidtiana, 

 producing two of the best-known bedding varieties, Carrieri and Erfor- 

 dii, the former being introduced by Bruant in 1883, and the latter 

 by Haage and Schmidt in 1894. B. gigantea rosea, Hort., is an excel- 

 lent hybrid which has been produced by crossing B. semperflorens 

 and B. Lyncheana. The plant is about three feet high, with green 

 ovate leaves with a red sinus at the base of each leaf. The flower 

 stems are from six to eight inches long and terminate in large cymes 

 of rosy-red flowers. It is one of the best begonias for winter decora- 

 tion in the greenhouse, and was introduced by Lemoine in 1888. 



Fuchsiodes. B. fuchsiodes, Hook., was introduced from New 

 Granada to Kew in 1847 by the collector, Purdie, who found it on the 

 Ocana Mountains. It has succulent tall stems, three feet or more 

 high, which are clothed with numerous ovate, green leaves, one and 

 one-half inches long and tinged with red when young. The scarlet 

 flowers are borne on drooping-branched cymes, and greatly resemble 

 a fuchsia. This is a first-class greenhouse plant, and may be grown 

 into a short, bushy plant, or may be trained to cover unsightly walls 

 and pillars. It is somewhat impatient of stagnant water about its 

 roots, the leaves turning yellow and falling off unless provided with 

 good drainage. Var. miniata, Linden (B. cinnabarina, Hort,), was 

 introduced from Colombia to Belgium by W. Linden. It differs from 

 the species only in having flesh-colored flowers. In 1891, Lemoine 

 crossed this variety with B. semperflorens, and produced an easy- 

 growing, pretty hybrid called B. abundance. CorbeiUe de Feu is an- 

 other hybrid introduced by Lemoine by crossing semperflorens and 

 fuchsiodes, which is well worth growing. 



Nitida.B. nitida, Dryander, previously mentioned as the first 



