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GESNERA MOLLIS. 
G. oblongata, (or elongata,) a species from which it is at once distinguished by its 
less shrubby habit, strong, erect, tall, succulent stems, and large soft leaves; while 
the blossoms, though similar in form, colour, and internal spotting, are a little more 
inflated in comparison with their length, and are produced in threes from the axils 
of the leaves on long and graceful peduncles. Those of G. oblongata are borne 
in clusters of four. 
Altogether it is a very handsome plant, a native of the Caraccas, whence it was 
introduced to this country in 1839. It has been 
kept in a stove by many cultivators, but appears 
to thrive exceedingly well tlirough the summer in 
a greenhouse at Mrs. Lawrence's, Ealing Park, 
from which collection we were favoured with our 
figure in the autumn of 1840. Indeed, with re- 
gard to the temperature it requires, the specimen 
we have just referred to was the strongest and 
finest we have anywhere witnessed, flowering 
during the whole of the summer, and far into 
the autumn. Its aspect will be better shown by 
the woodcut given below. 
It demands no unusual cultivation. A rich 
soil in a moderately large pot, with comparative 
dryness in winter, and an abundant supply of 
water while growing, are its chief requisites. 
Perhaps, too, it will be benefited by a little stove- 
heat in early spring, and a gradual removal to the 
greenhouse towards the end of May or the com- 
mencement of June. It is increased by cuttings or suckers. 
Linnaeus dedicated the genus to Conrad Gesner, a noted botanist of Zurich. 
