THE CULTIVATED SPECIES OF BEGONIA. 



167 



the beautiful metallic purples of the varieties of B. incar- 

 nata, all of which are represented among the plants exhibited 

 to-day, are attractive characters quite worth the notice of horti- 

 culture. 



In the flowers we have the unmistakable stamp of the 

 Begonia, yet at the same time plenty of variety. Size need not 

 be touched upon, but in form there are the two-petalled, the ten- 

 petalled, the drooping, the erect, the nodding ; then, whilst in 

 substance some are thick and succulent, others are thin and 

 papery. In lasting qualities they vary too, some, such as 

 B. socotrana and B. Haageana, holding on for several weeks, 

 whilst others remain only for a day or two. The value of the 

 former character in Begonias for the garden cannot be overrated. 

 Species which hold their flowers well and are showy, or are even 

 promising as breeders, should receive special attention from 

 those interested in the improvement of the Begonia. 



Then there is the character of fragrance, which, although not 

 general in Begonias, is yet possessed by a few. B. Baumannii, 

 a species lately noticed in the horticultural papers, I have not 

 yet seen ; but I know one, which was introduced to Kew from 

 South China a few years ago, and figured in the Bot. Mag. 

 (t. 6926) under the name of B. cyclophylla, which ought to prove 

 a gold-mine to Mr. Laing or Mr. Cannell or M. Lemoine. It is 

 tuberous-rooted, has an ornamental leaf and good-sized flesh- 

 tinted flowers as powerfully fragrant as Boses. From what I 

 know of this plant, it is not unlikely to cross with the tuberous- 

 rooted kinds, or with the socotrana section. 



So far the genus as a whole. There are a considerable 

 number of species, known at present only in herbaria, but which 

 are well worth introducing. At the same time it must be 

 admitted that many of the species, probably four-fifths of them, 

 are scarcely worth a place in the garden. 



I have been through the Kew plants, both living and dried, 

 have looked at all the pictures, and looked up pretty much all 

 the literature of the cultivated Begonias, and I can only find fifty 

 species among them which are in my opinion worth including 

 among good garden-plants. These fifty I have described here. 

 They are all in cultivation, I believe ; most of them are grown at 

 Kew, where also there are many others of comparatively little 

 value as decorative plants. The Kew collection is rich in 



