BEGOXIA 



BEGONIA 



477 



41. imperialis, Lem. Very hairy, low: st. short, her- 

 baceous, green: Ivs. 4-6 in. wide, brownish green, with 

 irregular bands of bright green along the nerves, mak- 

 ing a striking contrast: fls. insignificant, white. Mex. 

 I.H. 8:274. Var. maculata, Hort., has brown Ivs. with 

 green blotches. Var. smaragdina, Hort., has wholly 

 bright green Ivs. I.H. 7:202. — These plants require a 

 liothouse treatment in winter. 



cc. Lvs. markedly pellale. 



42. modica, Stapf. A spreading, dwarf plant with 

 -ts. green, slender: lvs. peltate, orbicular or broadly 

 nvate, 2-4 in. long, pale green in color, margins pink, 

 undulate, margins and veins ciliate; petioles greenish 

 red, hairy, 3-0 in. long: infl. few-fid., males .'small, 2- 

 petaled, orange-yellow, with red blotch at base of 

 petals, female.s same as males in color; ovary 4-celled, 

 J^^in. long, winged, hairy. W. Trop. Afr. B.M. 8258. — 

 A recent species, requiring stove conditions. 



43. Gentilii, De Wild. A near ally of B. modica: sts. 

 creeping, red hairy: lvs. peltate, erect, ovate, acute, 

 margins finely serrate, slightly reflexed, green .suffused 

 with light red, young lvs. red; petiole terete, red, 

 hairy, 6-12 in. long; blades 3-4 in. long: infl. few-fld.; 

 fls. orange-yellow suffused with red; ovary 4-celled, 

 winged. Congo. 



44. Bindtii, Hort. Plant rough-hairy hke B. Rex: 

 lvs. elliptic-orbicular, markedly peltate, green above 

 and red-hairy beneath, blistered or bullate. — Very 

 recently offered, and yet little known. 



4.5. goegoensis, N. E. Br. Fire King. Compact but 

 large plant: st. a short, thick, greenish red rootstock: 

 lvs. handsome, erect, peltate, ovate-orbicular, 6-9 in. 

 long, surface blistered or puckered green, with dark 

 bronzy blotches, prominently veined, dull red on the 

 under side: fls. small, rose-pink, in a lax cluster 6 in. 

 high. Goego, Sumatra. — A distinct and ornamental- 

 Ivd. plant, requiring stove conditions; deserves the 

 attention of amateurs. 



BB. The essentially plain-lvd. rhizomatous kinds, although 

 some of them are grown almost wholly for the foliage. 

 {Some of this group are bold and striking.) 



C. Lvs. prominently lobed, or parted or even divided. 

 46. ricinifolia, Hort. {B. heracleifolia x B. peponi- 

 fblia). St. a short, thick rootstock: Ivs. large, bronzy 







515. Begonia Rajah (XJi). No. 36. 



green, lobed, resembling ca,stor-oil plant: fls. numerous, 

 on long, erect peduncles, rose-pink. — A useful free- 

 flowering plant for the greenhouse, producing its fls in 

 winter and early spring. \'ar. gigantea odor^ta, Hort., 

 is a double hybrid {B. ricirufi)liti and B. fidgens x 

 B. Scharffiana) of German origin. Lvs. large, round-cor- 



date, the lobes extending one-third or less deep and 

 notched: fls. on long scapes, standing above the lvs., 

 delicate rose-color and with tea-rose odor. Gt. 54, 

 p. 42. 



47. heracleifolia, Cham. & Schlecht. (B.jatrophspfdlia, 

 Hort.). Hairy: st. a short, thick rhizome: lvs. 6-12 in. 

 across, with 5-9 deep and narrow notched and toothed 



516. Begonia magnifica ( X 'A). 

 No. 59. 



lobes, rich green: peduncles 2-A ft., long, straight: fls. 

 white or rose-tinted, small, with 2 prominent rounded 

 parts. Mex. B.M. 3444. B.R. 1668. J.H. HI. 56:309. 

 Var. nigricans, Hook., has the margins of the lvs. bor- 

 dered with dark (almost black) green. B.M. 4983. Var. 

 longipila, Hort. has long, fleshy hairs on the If.-stalks 

 and peduncles. B. Siinderbruchii, Hort., is an American 

 form of this var.: lvs. bronze-green, silver bands along 

 the nerves, purple underneath. Var. punctata, Hort., 

 has green lvs., reddish near the margin: fls. rose-colored, 

 with deep red spots on the outside. 



48. rubella, Hamil. Smooth: st. a short, thick rhi- 

 zome: lvs. handsome, large, cordate, acuminate, deeply 

 lobed, spotted with irregularly shaped dark brown marks: 

 fls. pale pink, on long peduncles, decorative. Nepal. 



49. Verschaffeltiana, Regel (B. Verschaffcltii, Hort. 

 B. manicala x B. carolinicefdlia) . Hairy: st. a thick 

 rhizome: lvs. large, ovate, acuminate, lobed: fls. rose- 

 colored, pendent on long peduncles. I.H. 2:68. — Tall, 

 coarse and unsightly as an old specimen, but when well 

 grown from year to year from cuttings makes an excel- 

 lent plant and produces quantities of its small rose- 

 colored fls. in early spring, which last for several months 

 and have a considerable decorative value. 



50. heracleicotyle, Veitch (B. heracleifolia x B. hydro- 

 cotylifoiia). A small, es.sentially smooth plant, with 

 lvs. close to the rhizomes: lvs. thick, obliquely cordate- 

 ovate, many-lobed and toothed, margins slightly ciliate, 

 shining metallic green above and reddish beneath: fls. 

 pink, small, freely produced on about 8 free-branching 

 peduncles in early spring. Veitch, 1895. — A useful and 

 decorative greenhouse plant. 



cc. Lvs. lanceolate to ovate or cordate-ovate to orbicular, 



not deeply lobed, often entire, and sometimes peltate. 



D. Foliage small, the lvs. less than 2 in. wide. 



51. hydrocotylifolia. Otto. Whole plant hairy: st. 

 succulent, creeping: lvs. rotundate-cordate, repand but 



