179 



BEGONIA BARKERL 



(Mr. Barker's Begonia.) 

 LINNEAN SYSTEM. _ .„ „ NATURAL ORDER. 



No 135 



MONCECIA POLYANDRIA. BEG0NIACE<3E. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Begonia (Lin.) Masc. Corolla nunc 0, nunc tetra-petala. Calyx polysepalus 4 — 9 ; sepala 

 plerumque (non semper) insequalia. — Fcem. Corolla nunc 0, nunc tetrapetala. Styli 3 bifida 

 rarius multifida. Capsula triquetra, alata, trilocularis, polysperma. 



Male. Corolla sometimes wanting, sometimes 4-petaled. Calyx many-sepaled, from 4 to 9 ; 

 sepals mostly, not always, unequal. — Female. Corolla sometimes none, sometimes 4-petaled. 

 Styles 3, bifid, rarely many-cleft. Capsules 8-sided, winged, 3-celled, many-seeded. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



B. Barkeri ; acaulis ; foliis basi insequaliter cordatis, obsolete lobatis, acutis, supra glabris 

 nitidis, subtus hirsutis ; scapo longissimo piloso ; floribus masculis, dipetalis cymosis, cyma 

 dichotome ramosissima; petalis obovatis, subtus pilosis; antheris linearibus, longitudinaliter 

 dehiscentibus. 



Stemless ; leaves unequally cordate at the base, obsoletely lobed, acute, the upper surface 

 smooth and shining, under surface hairy ; scape very long, hairy ; flowers male, 2-petaled, 

 cymose, cyme very much branched in a dichotomous manner ; petals obovate, hairy underneath ; 

 anthers linear, dehiscing at the side lengthwise. 



Descr. — Herbaceous, stemless ; root thick and fleshy, much resembling that of a Gesneria. 

 Leaves petiolate ; petiole about a foot long, densely covered with paleaceous dentate hairs. 

 Leaves very large, about eighteen inches in diameter, and two feet from the base to the apex, 

 unequally heart-shaped at the base, margin brownish, obsoletely lobed, acute, the upper surface 

 smooth and shining, the under surface hairy ; the hairs on the veins, which are very prominent, 

 similar to those upon the petiole. Scape about four feet high, and densely covered with the same 

 paleaceous hairs as those on the petiole,, but they are narrower and longer. Bracts (?) brown, very 

 deciduous. Inflorescence composed entirely of male flowers, arranged in a cyme. Petals two, 

 white, obovate, the inner surface smooth, the centre of the exterior surface pilose. Anthers about 

 eleven, linear, dehiscing at the edges, longitudinally from the base to the apex. Female flowers 

 entirely absent. 



Looking at the immense leaves and scape of this plant, we cannot but consider 

 it a most noble species ; and although it will not be regarded as one of the most 

 showy, it is doubtless the most gigantic species hitherto described. 



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