56 ESTABLISHMENT OF VARIETIES IN COLEUS 



of his time (as a student) at Chiswick in 1866, under Bause, in the 

 propagating department. He was quite famihar with the methods used 

 in the development of the hybrid coleuses and states that "it fell to my 

 lot to convey the first half dozen coleuses sold to Sleven's rooms." 

 Mr. Wynne refers to the description (see reference above) of the hybrids 

 as adequate. In regard to the present existence of these hybrid types, 

 Mr. Wynne gives the following statement: 



"I am unable to say whether there is more than one of the Chiswick-raised 

 set of Coleus in existence now, but I very much doubt it. It is very interest- 

 ing, however, that at least one of them has survived and is still grown for 

 Covent Garden and possibly for other markets. This is the variety originally 

 named Queen Victoria, which received a first-class certificate (R. H. S.) in the 

 autumn of 1868, and was bought at the second sale by the now extinct firm of 

 John and Charles Lee, of Hammersmith. I do not think it is now known in 

 the market by its original name, but it is the well-known variety with choco- 

 late leaves and golden segments and I have no doubt about its identity with 

 our old Chiswick plant." 



It should be noted that Wj^nne's description of this form as "choco- 

 late leaves with golden segments" does not agree with the colored 

 plate in the Florist and Pomologist for 1869. The latter represents the 

 pattern as solid crimson in the center, with well-defined yellow border. 



While Coleus is now regarded with less favor than it formerly 

 received, there are many types in cultivation exhibiting great range 

 of color patterns and leaf character. At Erfurt, Germany, during 

 the summer of 1914, the writer saw large collections of Coleus grown for 

 seed for the trade. In the Ernst Benary collections they were chiefly 

 of large-leaved, small-leaved, and f ringed-leaved tj^pes. In the large- 

 leaved plants the yellow, if present, was usually in the center, a condi- 

 tion which was true without exception for the plants with small leaves. 

 The fringed-leaved types possessed most curious doubly cut prolifera- 

 tions about the margin. Of the entire collection hardly any two plants 

 were ahke as to color distribution. There were, however, fewer classes 

 in regard to leaf-shape. One of the newer tj-pes was a dwarf with 

 fringed leaves derived by selection. 



At the greenhouses of Haage and Schmidt there were 2 rather definite 

 types with laciniate leaves. One is salicifolia, with narrow, slender, 

 quite irregularly-lobed leaves. Another is quercifolia, with broad 

 leaves coarsely cut with round-tipped segments. Their large-leaved 

 types, entire and fringed, showed great diversity of color patterns. 

 The plants are grown for seed, and in producing stock for seed parents 

 selections are made with special reference to leaf-shape and general 

 habit of growth. In general no selection is made with reference to color 

 patterns and each type exhibits wide variation in this respect. 



From the history of Coleus it seems quite clear that the numerous 

 and diverse varieties have arisen from few species. These varieties 

 exhibit many characteristics of coloration and leaf-shape that were 



