HOT-HOUSE OE STOVE PLANTS. 



rivals; leaves alternate, oblong . obtuse, one to two 

 feet long, tkick and fleshy, deep shining green on 

 the upper side, paler below. Moluccas. 



BeaucMnea—A genus of large-growing plants 



belongmg to the Liliaceous order; they are at once 



cunous and 



handsome ; 



the stems are 



erect, many 



feet high, and 



the base is 



much swollen 



into a woody 



bulbif orm 



mass, the 



summit being 



crowned with 



a very large 



head of pen- 

 dent ensif orm 



leaves. 

 Beaucar- 



neas are all 



natives of 



Slexico, and 



require an 



abundant 



supply of water during 



the summer season, but 



during the winter little 



or none is required. Pot 



in rich sandy loam, and 



drain the pots or tubs 



well in order to carry 



oS the water rapidly. 



Temperature of the In- 

 termediate House. 



S. glauca. — This spe- 

 cies is sometimes called 

 B. strlcta ; the leaved 

 are pendulous, narrow, 

 about three feet long, 

 and very glaucous; the 

 variety latifolia has 



broader leaves, and a much stouter stem. Mexico. 

 S. gracilis. — ^An elegant, slender-growing plant, 

 with straight narrow leaves, slightly channelled in 

 fi'ont, and bright green. Mexico. 



B. lo>iffifo7ium.—Ttaa is a magnificent and bold- 

 growing plant, with broad recurved leaves some 

 nine or ten feet in length, bright green in colom-. 

 Mexico. 



B. reemrifolia, sometimes called B. tuberculata. — It 

 bears a Isirge head of long and tapeiing recurved 

 leaves of a bright green hue. Mexico. 



181 



BaMBDSA VIRlDI-GLAUCESCEJiS. 



Begonia.— A genus of plants giving its name 

 to the order {Begoniacea), and it commemorates the 

 labours of M. Begon, a Frenchman, who did very 

 much towards the advancement of botanical science. 

 One section of this genus (tuberous-rooted) has been 

 ti-eated as a "florist's flower" in the first volume 



of this work, 

 and must ne- 

 cessarily be 

 omitted here. 

 Begonias are 

 popularly 

 known as 

 " Elephants' 

 Ears," which 

 name has 

 been given 

 them from 

 the shape of 

 their leaves. 

 It is a very 

 large family, 

 being widely 

 J^ distributed 



over the four 

 quarters of 

 the globe, al- 

 though, until 

 recently, Africa was sup- 

 posed to possess none; 

 now, however, both 

 South Africa and the 

 AVest Coast have contri- 

 buted some handsome 

 and remarkable kinds. 

 There are sevei'al dis- 

 tinct groups of these 

 plants : thus the tuber- 

 ous - rooted — these are 

 purely summer bloomers ; 

 then we have the orna- 

 mental-leaved group, of 

 which B. Bex is the type, 

 and from which such 

 beautiful variations have 

 been produced, and tbe flowers of which, although 

 nearly always white, are very handsome ; and, 

 thirdly, there is the old-fashioned group of flowering 

 kinds, which our grandfathers grew and greatly de- 

 lighted in, and which, for the most part, dis- 

 play their beauties all through the dreary winter 

 months. The ornamental-leaved group cannot well 

 be oveiTated for the extreme beauty of its foli- 

 age ; the parent of these, B. Bex, is beautifully 

 portrayed in our coloured plate. These plants 

 are splendid ornaments when grown large, either for 



