144 



BEGONIA 



BEGONIA 



III. 16:633 (1894). B.M. 7028, as B. Scharfii.-One of 

 the most beautiful plants of the genus. Has been dis- 

 tributed as B. Scharffiana by mistake. 



B. Credneri. Hort. (B. Scharffiana x metdllica). Int. 

 by Haage & Schmidt, 1890. There is another plant named 

 B. Credneri, which was raised by Lemoine in 1891 from 

 the same parents. Bruant also used these two parents 

 in 1891, and called his plant B. Pictaviensis. All three 

 plants are identical, and can only be distinguished from 

 B. Haageana by their smaller flowers and the peduncles 

 standing erect and not gracefully bending over, as in 

 Haageana. There is another plant spelled B. Pictavensis, 

 raised by Bruant in 1881, a cross of B. Schmidtiixsem- 

 perflorens. It has also been called B. Bruanti. (See 

 R.H. 1882, p. 377; 1883, pp. 8, 52.) 



DD. Fls. white or greenish white, small. 



4. imperialis, Lem. St. short, herbaceous, green: Ivs. 

 4-6 in. wide, very hairy, brownish green, with irregular 

 bands of bright green along the nerves : fls. insignifi- 

 cant, white. I.H. 8:274. Var. maculata, Hort., has 

 brown Ivs. with green blotches. Var. smaragdlna, Hort., 

 has wholly bright green Ivs. I.H. 7: 262. 



5. peltata, Hassk. (B. Hdsskarli, Zoll.). St. per- 

 ennial : Ivs. peltate, ovate acuminate, thick and succu- 

 lent, covered with a whitish tomentum, 6-9 in. long: fls. 

 small, white, on long peduncles. Braz. It is the only 

 Begonia in cult, with thick, felted, peltate, silvery Ivs. 



cc. Size of Ivs. small, less than 2 in. wide. 



6. Margaritas, Hort. (B. metdllica x echinosepala) . 

 Plant 1-2 ft. high : sts. purple, hairy : Ivs. ovate-acumi- 

 nate, sinuously dentate, green above, red beneath : fls. 

 in cymes, large, rose colored ; sepals with long hairs at 

 the base. Int. by Bruant in 1884. 



7. Schmidtiana, Kegel (B. Schmidti, Hort.). Dwarf, 



herbaceous, 1 ft. or less in 

 height : Ivs. lobed, toothed, 

 hairy, about 2 in. long, reddish 

 beneath : fls. white, tinted with 

 rose. Braz. B.H. 1883, pp. 56, 57. 

 Gn. 17, pp. 268,269. A very use- 

 ful plant for summer bedding. 

 8. hydrocotyliiolia, 

 Otto. St. succulent, 

 creeping: Ivs.rotundate- 

 .-^^H^HR^ cordate : petiole short : 

 whole plant hairy : pe- 



Jj^B^^^^BHk duncles l ft. high, pilose ; 

 fls. dipetalous, rose-col- 

 ored. Mex. B.M. 3968. 



207. 



Begonia Haageana 

 (XX). No. 3. 



reniform, lobed, hispid on both sides, dark green, lobes 

 acute, toothed, ciliated : fls. in axillary dichotomous 

 cymes, large, white, tinted rose. Braz. B.M. 3591. B. 



BB. Shape of leaves incised, or parted. 



c. Fls. white or whitish. 



9. platanifdlia, Graham. St. 5-6 ft. high, erect, robust, 

 .-smooth, green, joints annulated : Ivs. 8-10 in. in diam., 



208. Begonia fuchsioides (X 



f/unnerce folia, Lind. (B. Washingtoniana, Hort.), once 

 offered by Saul, is very similar to this, but its Ivs. are 

 not so deeply lobed and the fls. are very insignificant. 

 I.H. 22:212. 



cc. Fls. pink. 



10. metallica, G. Smith. Sts. perennial, succulent, 

 hairy, 4 ft. high, branched : Ivs. obliquely cordate, lobed 

 and serrated, 3-6 in. long, upper surface green, shaded 

 with a dark metallic color : tts. blush-white, under side 

 of petals clothed with red bristly hairs. There are a 

 number of varieties; e. g., var. variegata, var. velutina, 

 var. cyprea, but they do not differ much from the origi- 

 nal. Bahia. R.H. 1844 : 218. G.C. II. 5: 397. A very 

 attractive plant, both in foliage and flower. 



11. ricinifolia, Hort. (B. heracleifbliaxpeponifblia). 

 St. a short, thick rootstock : Ivs. large, bronzy green, 

 lobed, resembling castor-oil plant : fls. numerous, on 

 long, erect peduncles, rose pink. 



AA. LVS. glabrous, or only a few scattered hairs on the 



upper surface or on the margins. 



B. Under surface of Irs. green. 



c. Margins entire or toothed. 



D. Width of Ivs. less than 1 in. 



E. Fls. pink, scarlet, or carmine. 



12. incarnata, Link & Otto (B. aucubcefolia, Hort 

 B.Martidna, Schlecht. B. insiynis, Grah.). St. erect, 

 herbaceous, 2-3 ft. high : Ivs. unequally cordate, lanceo- 

 late, toothed : fls. rose-colored, abundant, males IK in. 

 across, with 2 ovate and 2 narrow petals ; females 

 smaller, with 5 equal petals. B.M, 2900, as B. ins ignis. 

 A. G. 16:97. A. F. 12: 724-5 ; 13:588. R.H. 1870, p. 266 ; 

 1875: 151. Var. grandiflora, Hort., is a new and much 

 improved variety, which is very useful for cut-flowers or 

 decoration in winter. 



