BEGONIA 



BELLADONNA LILY 



151 



of grey, tinged with red on the under side : fls. large, 

 fleshy, pink : ovary curiously crinkled along the angles. 

 Assam. B.M. 4984.— Int. by Henderson, England, in 

 1856. 



101. Iacimd.ta, Roxb. St. perennial : Ivs. roundly 

 ovate, lobed, pubescent, black-purple, with a broad zone 

 of green, reddish on the under side : fls. as in B. Rex. 

 India, S. China. B.M. 5021. -Int. to Kew in 1857. Var. 

 BowringifLna, Hort,, has green Ivs. and rosy fls. B.M. 

 5182. 



102. xanthlna, Hook. Similar to ^. JSear, and probably 

 only a form of that species : Ivs. large, fleshy, cordate- 

 ovate, acuminate, sinuate-ciliated, dark green above, 

 purplish beneath : fls. yellow : capsule with one large 

 wing. B.M. 4683. -Var. pictifdlia, Hort., B.M. 5102. 

 Var. Ldzuli, B.M. 5107. 



103. R6x, Putz. Fig. 220. St. a short, fleshy rhizome, 

 from which spring the long-stalked, large, ovate, wavy 

 Ivs., which are hairy and colored a rich metallic green, 

 with a zone of silvery grey: peduncles erect : fls. large, 

 rose-tinted, males 2 in. across, with 4 unequal petals ; 

 females smaller, with 5 nearly equal petals : ovary 3- 

 angled, with 2 short and 1 long wing. Assam. P.S. 

 12:1255-1258. B.M. 5101. -This magnificent species is 

 the principal parent in the production of the numerous 

 ornamental -foliage d Begonias. It has been crossed 

 with a few species in the first place, and then hybrid ' 

 seedlings have been raised again and again from the 

 progeny. Fig. 220 is a copy of a part of the original fig- 

 ure in Flore des Serres (1857), and is given here for the 

 purpose of showing what this species was like when first 

 known to horticulturists. 



Following are some of the derivative types of Rex 

 Begonias : 



104. Rex y. discolor hybrids. l.H. 28:434. Mad. Jos. Moens, 

 silvery wMte, with green articulations towards the margins, 

 and a green disc. Mad. Chas. Weber, green, spotted with white. 

 Mad. 6. Van Meerbeeke, silvery, with a narrow green edge, and a 

 central green diso running out along the veins. Souv. de Mad. 

 la Barone de Bleichroder, disc and broad margin downy green, 

 central portion silvery. Mad. Funck, disc and broad margin 

 light apple-green, intermediate portion silvery. Baron A . Vri^re, 

 disc dark green, center silvery, margin hroad, dark green, silver- 

 spotted. Others are Mad. Treyve, Mad. Luizet, Edw. B. Ken- 

 nedy, Henri Vilmorin, Pres. Belle, Sir Joseph Hooker, Ed. Py- 

 ndert, Pres.de la Devansaye, Mad. F.Aligati&re, Abel Carrihre. 



105. BexXdiad&ma hybrids. E.H.1888,p.20. R. B.15, p. 91. 

 Jjesoudii, very similar to B. Rex, but larger leaved. Adrien 

 Schmidt, green on the margins, marked and spotted silver in 

 the center. Olementince, lobes very acute, white blotches in 

 center. Mad. Alainagny, Ivs. very large, deeply lobed, piu-e 

 metallic -white, with a green center. Mad. Isabelle Bellon, 

 finely dentate, lohed and undidated, center olive-green, sur- 

 rounded by a zone of white, becoming rose on the inner mar- 

 gin. M. Crousse, very long, dentate, green center, band of 

 silver around margin. Others are Theodore Schmidt, Henri 

 Domeck, lAni^e, Papillon, Mad. D. Wettstein, D. Wettstein, A, 

 Dallidre, Mad. Georges Bruant, Wilhelm Pfitzer, 



106. JtexyiSocotrana. A plant has been produced which com- 

 bines the characters of the two parents in a pleasing manner : 

 Ivs. like B. Rex, but with shorter petioles, and crowded on the 

 stem ; prettily colored : lis. in erect, sturdy racemes, which 

 stand well above the plant ; like B. Socotrana in color, but 

 paler. Plant said to be evergreen.— Interesting as a connecting 

 link between the Rex and semi-tuberous sections. Int. by San- 

 der & Co. in 1897. 



107. Miscellaneous Res hybrids of known origin : Bex leop- 

 ardinus (RexXxanthina, var. Reichenheimei) . Very similar 

 to B. Rex, but much larger. F.S. 13: 1317.— Int. by Van Houtte 

 in 1859. Qrandis (RexXsplendida). Very similar to B. Rex. 

 F.S. 13:1330.— Int. by Rollison. Otto Forster (RexXimperialis). 

 Dwf. habit : Ivs. obliquely cordate, dark green, marbled with 

 silvery greyish green : fls. greenish white, inconspicuous. 

 Miranda {RexXimperialis, var. smaragdina). Very similar to 

 above, but marbled with silver. JJoTJwm (RexXargentea). JLeo- 

 poldi (GrriffithiXsplendida). l.H. 6:205. Prince Troubetzkoi, 

 double hybrid CGrifiS.thiXXanthina, var. marmorataandrubro- 

 venia), l.H. 5:158; also, from the same cross, Madame TFag- 

 ner, l.H. 5:161, and Miranda. Countess Louise Erdody (Alex- 

 ander, var. Humboldt Xargentea-cupreata). Fig. 221. Lvs. 

 obliquely cordate, ovate-acute, the smaller of the two lobes 

 twisted in a spiral manner, with as many as 4 coils ; upper 

 surface silvery, with veins deep green ; under surface reddish, 

 pilose. l.H. 31:516. G.O. II. 22:205. —Int. by F.Nemeezik, gar- 

 dener to Count Erdody, a Hungarian nobleman, in 1884. 



108. Other Rex varieties' of unknown or uncertain origin : 

 Louise Closson. Lvs. ovate-acuminate, lobed, veins deep pur- 

 ple, surface blotched with deep purple brouze, metallic luster 



very bright. Lucy Closson is very similar, but more vigorous, 

 with the blotches more numerous and bettra: distributed. 

 Marquis de Peralta. Lvs. small, margins hairy, numerous 

 silvery spots on surface. Compact, dense grower. Ihtckesse de 



Brabant. Lvs. large, purple, mar- 

 gins and surface hairy, otherwise 

 like B. Rex. Louise Chretien. Lvs. 

 green, with a zone of glossy silver 

 toward the center, covered with 

 very small white spots. Bertha 

 MacOregor. Lvs. ovate-acuminate, 

 lobed, white, center and margin 

 green. Count Erdody. Silver-white, 

 green-striped along the veins, hairy; 

 lobes twisted into a spiral, hairy, 

 Matilda. Lvs. silvery white, center 

 and along veins green, margins 

 hairy. Alice White. Large, bright 

 silver, center bronze, satin luster. 

 P. B. Kennedy. 



BEIEMCANBA (East Indian 

 name). IriddcecB. Blackberrv 219. A type of 



Lily. Leopard Flower. A Tuberous Begonia, 



monotypic genus, containing an double-flowered, 



interesting hardy, herbaceous 



perennial plant, which is an old garden favorite. The 

 first of the popular names comes from the clusters of 

 shining, black, roundish seeds, and the second from the 

 flower, which is orange, spotted red. It is more conmaonly 

 sold as a Pardanthus, which also means Leopard Flower. 

 Perianth segments oblong, the 3 inner slightly shorter 

 and spirally twisting as they fade. Prop, by seeds or by 

 division. Of easy culture in rich, sandy loam and in a 

 sunny place. Commonly spelled Belamcanda. 



Ghin^nsis, Leman. [Belamcdnda punctdfa, Moench. 

 Ixia Chininsis, Linn. Pardanthus Ghininsis, Ker- 

 Gawl. P. 5w^?ts is, Van Houtte). Fig.222. Height2-3ft.; 

 rootstock a short, stoloniferous rhizome : lvs. about 6, in 

 a lax tuft, equitant, striate, 1-lKft. long, 1 in. broad : 

 outer spathe valves J^-1 in. long; pedicels 1-2 in. long: 

 capsule 1-lJ^in. long; valves reflexing, persistent. 

 China and Jap. B.M. 171. F.S. 16:1632. L.B.C. 19:18/4. 

 —The seed-stalks are sometimes used with dried grasses 

 for decoration. It is said that the birds sometimes mis- 

 take the seeds for blackberries. 



BELLFLOWEE. See Campanula. 



BELLADONNA. See Atropa. 



BELLADONNA LILY. See Amaryllis. 



