652 



OLOKiOSA 



A. Segments {or petals) much crisped, 

 8up6rl)a, Linn. Climbing Lily. Stem 5-]0 ft. high: 

 1 vs. ovate-lanceolate ; segments ,'M in. long and less 

 than an inch wide, opening yellow, but changing to 

 yellow-red and deep scarlet. Africa, Asia. B.K.1:77. 

 <:Jn. 38:784. R.B. 23:12L 



AA. Segments soyneivhat uniltihitc, but not crisped. 

 simplex, Linn.(0. vin'scens, Lindl. O.Pldntii, Loud. ). 

 KIs. opening yellow, and remaining so in shade, but be- 

 <oming deep yellow-red when exposed to the sun; wider 

 than in O. superba, barely undulate and wavy, and not 

 l)[-<donged or hooked at the end as in the latter species. 

 Africa. B.M.2539. Var. grandinbra, Nichols. {Metlwnica 

 lirandifldra, Hook.), lias lis. 8 in. across. B.M. 5216. 



(;. Ahysslnica.'RicXi., said In be the largost-fld. species, seems 

 not to be in cult. L. II. B. 



GLOKY OF THE SNOW. Fanciful name for Chiono- 

 doxa. 



GLORY PEA. See Clianthus. 



GLOXINfiEA, Name given to hybrids of Gloxinia 



(Siuningia) and Gesneria. See Oloxinia. 



GLOXtNIA. The genus Gloxinia was founded by 

 L'lleritierin 1785(named in honorof P. B. Gloxin, abota- 

 nist of Strassburg) upon O. maculata of Brazil. Early 

 in this century a related Brazilian plant was introduced, 

 and it attracted much attention: this plant was named 

 (jloxinia speciosa by Lo<ldiges in his Botanical Cabinet 

 in 1817, and it was there figured. In the same year it 

 was figured by Ker in the Botanical Register, and 

 also by Sims in the Botanical Magazine. Sims wrote 

 that the plant was "already to be found in most of 

 the large collections about town [London]." These 

 writers refer the plant to the Linnjean class Didynamia, 

 Imt Ker also suggests that it may belong to the Cam- 

 panulaceae. This Gloxinia speciosa was the forerunner 

 and leading parent of the garden Gloxinias, plants which 

 are now referred to the family Gesneraeete; but it turns 

 out that the plant really belongs to Nees' genus Sinnin- 

 gia, founded in 1825 on a Brazilian plant which he 

 named S. Helleri. All our garden Gloxinias are Sin- 

 ningias, but to gardeners they will ever be known as 

 <iloxinia; therefore, we will trace the evolution of them 

 here. 



Gloxinia has no tubers: Sinningia has. Gloxinia has 

 a ring-like or annular disk about the ovary: Sinningia 

 has 5 distinct glands. The Sinningias are either stem- 

 less or stem-bearing, with a trumpet-shape or bell-shape 

 r)-lobed and more or less 2-lipped corolla, a 5-angled or 

 r)-winged calyx, 4 stamens attached to the base of the 

 corolla, and with anthers cohering at tlie tips in pairs, 

 and a single style with a concave or 2-lobed stigma. 

 Tlie garden Gloxinias belong to tlie subgenus Ligeria 

 (subgenus of Sinningia), which has a short stem or 

 trunk, and a broad-limbed bell-sliaped flower. 



The true Gloxinias are not florists' fiowers, and thev 

 are little known in cultivation. They jtre apiiarcntly not 

 in the American trade. The old G. /iidcnhifa is figured in 

 the Garden .'19:801 (p. lili-l), and it is jircbably to be 

 found in choice collections in the Old World. * It pro- 

 duces knotty rootstocks, which, as well as the leaves, 

 may be used for propagation. It is also figure<l in B.M. 

 HOI. G. glahrdta, Zucc, from Mex., is the G. glabra, 

 llort., AcMmenes glox hi ia' flora, Forkel, and Plvrfopoma 

 gloxinifJorum, Plaust. It is a steiniiiy ]dant, with white 

 ll^. with yellow-spotted throat. (B.i\l.4430, as G. fimbri- 

 ula, ITort.) Plectopoma is now referred to Gloxinia. A 

 few forms of this were once offered by Saul, but, with 

 the exception of P. gloxlniflormn, they are probably all 

 garden forms. 



The garden Gloxinias (genus Sinningia) are nearly 

 stemless plants, producing several nr many very showy 

 bell-like fis. each on a long stem. Gloxinia sjtrriosa 

 originally had drooping fis., but the result of contiuue<l 

 breeding has produced a race with fis. nearly or quite 

 erect (Figs. 918, 919). The deep bell of the Gloxinia 

 is very rich and beautiful, and the erect ])Osition is 

 a decided gain. Tlie fis. also have l)een increased in 

 size and number, and varied in shape and markings ; 



GLOXINIA 



the Ivs. also have become marked with gray or white. 

 The color of the original Gloxinia speciosa was appar- 

 ently a nearly uniform i)urple. The modern races hare 

 colors in white, red, purple and all intermediate shades: 

 some are blotched, and others are fine-spotted or sprin- 

 kled with darker shades. It is probable that the larger 



918 Gloxinia of the florists 



part of the evolution in the common greenhouse Glox- 

 inia is a direct development from the old G. speciosa, 

 but hybridity has played an important part. One of the 

 earliest recorded series of hybrids (1844:) was with Sin- 

 ningia guttata , wYiich is a plant with an upright stem 

 and l>earing rather small spotted fis. in the axil.s of the 

 Ivs. (B.R. 13:1112). The issue of this cross showed lit- 

 tle effect of the S. guttata, except a distinct branching 

 habit in some of the plants (B.R. 30:48). It is possible, 

 however, that S. guttata has had something to do with 

 the evolution of the spots on the present-day flower, 

 although the original G. apeciosa was striped and 

 blotched in the throat. The student who wislies to trace 

 some of the forms of garden Gloxinias may look up the 

 following portraits : B.M. 1937, speciosa itself ; B.M. 

 32(10, var. albiflora; B.I\[. 3934, var. macrophylla varie- 

 gata ; B.M. 3943, var. Menziesii; F.S. 3:220, Zeichleri 

 (hvbrid); F.S. 3:2(i8; F.S. 4:311. Fyfiaua (hybrid); 

 F.S. r>:G10; F.S. 10:1002; F.S. 14:1434-0; F.S. 10:1699 

 and 1705; F.S. 17:1708, 1772-1770; F.S. 18:1840, 1878, 

 1885,1918-19; F.S. 19:1955, double forms; F.S. 21:2164; 

 F.S. 22:2324. I. H. 42: .39, 41. Gt. 47:79; Gt. 48, p. 80. 

 (hi. 15:108; 43:909; 52, p. 268. B.II. 1840:301, Teuch- 

 Icrii; R.H. 1848:201, Fvfiana; 1877:70, variabilis; R.H. 

 1883, p. 248. For florists' plants, see A.F. 11:7; A.G. 

 14:49; Gug. 0:83. There are many Latin-made names 

 of garden Gloxinias, but the plants are only forms of 

 the G. speciosa type. One of the commonest current 

 trade names is G. crassifalia, a name applied to some of 

 the best and largest-growing strains. 



There are double forms of Gloxinia, in which an outer 

 but shorter corolla is formed. These forms are more curi- 

 ous than useful. Gloxinia (Sinningia) has been hybri- 

 dized with <Tesneria; and the hybriil progeny has been 

 called Gloxinera (G.C. III. 17:145, Fig. 22). l. h. B. 



Gloxinias are general favorites with most people. 

 Tlieir large tubular and richly colored blossoms, to- 

 gether with their soft, velvety green leaves, make a 

 gorgeous display when in fiower. Being natives of tropi- 

 cal America, they require stove temperature during their 

 growing season. Though they may be grown so as to 

 flower at almost any season of the year, yet they are 

 naturally summer-flowering plants, and do best when 

 treated as such. They are propagiited by seeds, or by 

 cuttings ma<le of leaves or stems. S*-'eds are preferable, 

 unless one wislies to increase some v<*ry choice colored 

 variety, when it is best to propagate by leaf cuttings, 



