HOT-HOUSE OR STOVE PLANTS. 



181 



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

 feet long, thick and fleshy, deep shining green on 

 the upper side, paler below. Moluccas. 



Beaucarnea. — A genus of large-gTowing plants 

 belonging to the Liliaceous order ; they are at once 

 curious 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 

 jMexico, 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 

 off the water rapidly. 

 Temperature of the In- 

 termediate House. 



B. glauca. — This spe- 

 cies is sometimes called 

 B. stricta ; the leaves 

 are pendulous, narrow, 

 about three feet long, 

 and very glaucous ; the 

 variety latifolia has 



broader leaves, and a much stouter stem. Mexico.. 



B. gracilis. — An elegant, slender-growing plant, 

 with straight narrow leaves, slightly channelled in 

 front, and bright green. Mexico. 



B. longifoliuni. — This is a magnificent and bold- 

 growing plant, with broad recurved leaves some 

 nine or ten feet in length, bright green in colour. 

 Mexico. 



B. reeurvifolia, sometimes called B. ticberculata. — It 

 bears a large head of long and tapering recurved 

 leaves of a bright green hue. Mexico. 



Bambusa vieidi-glaucescens 



Begonia. — A genus of plants giving its name 

 to the order (Begoniacece), and it commemorates the 

 labours of M. Begon, a Frenchman, who did verj- 

 much towards the advancement of botanical science. 

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

 treated 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 

 distributed 

 over the four 

 quarters o f 

 the globe, al- 

 though, until 

 recently, Africa was sup- 

 posed to possess none ; 

 now, however, both 

 South Africa and the 

 West Coast have contri- 

 buted some handsome 

 and remarkable kinds. 

 There are several 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 the 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 



