BEGONIA 



BEGONIA 



473 



SD7. Begottia Davisii C X H>- No. 6. 



crenate: fls. all male except the terminal one of each 

 branch of the cyme, in terminal few-fid. cvmes, bright 

 rose G.C. II. 15:8. B.M. 6555. Gn. 2iri63; 49:42(5 

 (a.s B. Gloire de Lorraine). J.H. III. 51:317. R.H. 

 1906, p. 130; 1909, p. 426. A.F. 13:587, 588.— Bulbs or 

 semi-tubers were brought from the hot sandy island of 

 Socotra by I. B. Balfour, and grown at Kew in 1880. 

 The species was first described in Gardeners' Chronicle 



in 1881, and in the 

 same year in Bo- 

 tanical Magazine. 

 See also Balfour, 

 Botany of Socotra, 

 p. 102, 1888 (Vol. 

 31, Roy. Soc, Edin- 

 burgh ) . An early 

 study of the nature 

 of the bulbs by 

 Duchartre will be 

 found in Bull. Soc. 

 Bot. de France, 12 

 (1885).— This ex- 

 cellent plant re- 

 quires to be grown 

 in a light position 

 in a stove to develop 

 at its best. The 

 A}\.- ."^^tir'tJ' ''v*i&ri^ bulbs should be 

 'fi'^^i '^ ^\''!s\''n -i'U^TK^^ shaken out of the 



old soil in Sept. or 

 Oct. and potted up 

 'in a light soil, rich in 

 humus, and placed 

 in heat and mois- 

 ture, and, when well 

 established, should 

 be liberally supplied with manure-water. The fls. 

 appear during the winter months, after which the 

 plant dies down, forming a number of large resting 

 buds or bulbs; the pots should then be placed in an 

 intermediate temp, and be kept nearly dry until the 

 following growing period comes round. On account of 

 its habit of producing fls. in winter, this species has 

 been largely used by the hybridist in the production 

 of a race of winter-flowering begonias, of which there 

 are many named varieties. 



Following are leading Socotrana derivatives: 



2. Gloire de Lorraine (S. aocolrana-xB. Dregci). Fig. 505. One 

 of the fine.^t hybrid begonias ever raised: Ivs. small, nearly regular, 

 pure green; fls. almost exclusively male, 4-petaled. large, borne in 

 broad panicles, covering the whole superior part of the plant, rose- 

 colored, not deciduous. Gt. 42. p. 111. A.F. 12:842. G.F. 5:247.— 

 Although B. socotrana ia semi - bulbous and B. Dreffei has a thickened 

 rhizome, the hybrid forms show neither, but the base of the st. 

 throws out many shoot.s, which can be separated and insure the 

 multiplication of the plant. Intro, by Lemoine in 1S92. — There 

 are several forms of this plant now in cult. Rothschilds variety has 

 larger and darker colored fls. than the type. Turn/ord Halt is a 

 form with white fls. Caledonia also has white fls. but is far inferior 

 a-s a garden plant to that of Turnford Hall. Glory of Cincinnati, a 

 form with very lasting large satiny pink fls., is a seedling from B. 

 socotrana x a sport of Gloire de Lorraine; it bloomed first in 

 Dec. 1908, and was intro. to tratie in 1910 (J. A. Peterson). 



'.i. Gloire de Sceaux {B. socotrana x B.subpeltata). Fig. 506. 

 Plant stout, half shrubby, erect, vigorous, compact, will form a 

 plant a-s much as 8 ft. high in a year with good cult, and produce 

 quantities of its large rose-colored fis. over a period of several 

 months: Ivs. dark metallic green, thick, large, red beneath, veins 

 red above, suborbicular, sliglitly oliIi()ue: fls. profuse, beautiful rose- 

 pink, shiny, females the last fl. on the cyme. Fls, from Dec. till May. 

 H.H. 1884:516. G.F. 7; 1S5.— Intro, in 1S85. 



4. Triomphe de Lemoine (B. socotrana x B. Roezlii). St. her- 

 baceous, spreading, then erect and branching into numerous flower- 

 ing branches: Ivs. large, coriaceous, orbicular, .somewhat oblique, 

 margins slightly cenerous, 6 in. diam.: fis. in dichotomous cymes 

 from axils of Iv.s., rose-carmine, female fls. exceedingly rare, males 

 very profuse, plant resembling a large bouquet when in full bloom. 

 G.F. 2:557. — Intro, by I.emoine in 18H7. Retains its fls. after they 

 are withered, a rare occurrence in begonias. Another hybrid from 

 the same parent is Triomphe de Nancy, with fls. rich yellow in the 

 center, double, and the out«r petals of a paler hue. — Intro. 1888. 



.5. incomparabilis, Hort. {B. socotrana x a garden tuberous 

 form). I, vs. large, with the showy, well-formed orange-red fls. 

 standing well above them. H.B. 33:00. 



II. Tuberous Begonias, the plant passing the winter 

 as a dormant tuber Nos. 6-30. 



A. Plard slemless: Ivs. springing directly from the crown 



or tuber. 



6. Davisii, Veitch. Fig. 507. Lvs. ovate-cordate, 

 dull green, thinly hairy, above and below, upper side 

 lighter veined and under side red, petiole short: pedun- 

 cles, pedicels and fls. bright red. Peru. B.M. 6252. 

 F.M. 1876:231. G.C. II. 15:669.— A favorite with 

 hybridists, because of its rich coloring and its free flow- 

 ering. It has given rise to numerous dwarf, erect-habited 

 garden forms, with small but brightly colored fls. 



7. rosseflSra, Hook. Stout: petioles, .scapes, bracts, 

 and stipules bright red: lvs. green, 2-4 in. wide, on stout, 

 hairy petioles, 2-6 in. long, orbicular, reniform, con- 

 cave, margins lobed, red, toothed: fls. 2 in. across, 

 rose-red. Andes of Peru, 12,000 ft. Intro, in 1867. 

 B.M. 5680. — Light-colored seedlings of this species 

 gave rise to Queen of Whites, put into commerce in 

 1878, and apparently an important factor in subse- 

 quent garden forms of the same color. The species 

 itself is probably not now in cult. 



8. Froebelii, A. DC. More or le.ss hairy: lvs. numer- 

 ous, cordate, acuminate, green, covered with fleshy, 

 purplish hairs: fls. in tall, lax, drooping, branching 

 cymes, brilliant scarlet, large. Late autumn and 

 winter. Ecuador. J.H. III. 32, p. 33. Journ. Roy. 

 Hort. Soc. 19, p. cxcii. Gn. 12, p. 376. Intro, about 

 1872-3 by Otto Froebel of Zurich. — A beautiful flower- 

 ing plant, useful for conservatory work in winter. Var. 

 vemalis, Hort., hybrid (B. FroebeliixB. Dregei), simi- 

 lar to type; intro. by Dclouil in 1880. Var. nana, 

 Hort. Very dwarf: fls. dark scarlet. 



9. Veitchii, Hook. Loosely hairy: st. very short or 

 practically none, thick, fleshy, green: lvs. orbiculate, 

 cordate, lobed and incised, margins ciliate, green, 

 principal veins radiating from a bright carmine spot 

 near the center, under side pale green; petiole thick, 

 terete pilose: fls. 234 in. diam., cinnabar-red: caps, 

 smooth, unequal wings. Peru, 12,000 ft. B.M. 5663. 

 F.S. 22:2326. — One of the progenitors of the tuberous 

 race. Intro. 1867. Probably not now in cult., but a 

 beautiful species. 



10. octopetala, L'Her. (B. grandifldra, Knowl. & 

 West). Lvs. on long, .succulent downy petioles IJ2 ft- 

 long, cordate, deeply lobed and serrated, bright green: 

 fls. seldom produced 

 in cult., greenish 

 white, in corymbs, 

 males with 8 or 9 

 petals 2 in. across, 

 females smaller and 

 generally fewer. 

 Intro, to Glasgow 

 from Lima, Peru, 

 inlS35. B.M. 3559. 

 F.S. 20:2056-7. 

 A.F. 4:225 (var. 

 Lemoinei). This 

 species is of little 

 or no horticul- 

 tural value. 



AA. Plant with 

 st. {not scapes) 

 evident and 

 more or less 

 upright, usu- 

 ally branching. 



B. Lvs. narroii-, 

 lanceolate In ~ 

 ovatc-laiirfiiliiU-. 



11. boliviensis, 

 A. DC. Fig. .508. 

 Plant sparsely 508. Begonia boliviensis (XH)- No. 11. 



