BEGONIA RAMENTACEA. 
(Scaly Elephant’s-ear.) 
Class. Order. 
MONIECIA. POLYANDRIA. 
Natural Order. 
BEGONIACEiE. 
Generic Character.' — Male flower s — Calyx wanting. 
lorolla polypetalous ; petals commonly four, unequal. 
female flowers — Calyx wanting. Corolla with from 
;iour to nine petals, generally unequal. Styles three, 
j lifid. Capsule triquetrous, winged, three-celled, many- 
!i ceded. 
Specific Character. — an evergreen perennial. 
'tem short, thick, short-jointed, somewhat tortuous. 
waves obliquely ovate, with a short acumen, many- 
j nerved, entire, bright green and smooth above ; be- 
I neath sanguineous, and studded over with numerous 
fascicles of seta. Petiole as long as the leaf, or nearly 
so, tapering upwards, covered with fringed depressed 
scales. Stipules ovate, concave, dry and membranous 
at the margin ; exterior surface beset with seta. 
Peduncles longer than the petiole, clothed with 
similar scales. Floieers pale blush. Capsule san- 
guineous. 
The genus Begonia appears to have been established by Linnseus, and 
iiommemorates a French patron of Botany, M. Michael Begon, The species are 
ommon to both the Old and New World ; but by far the larger number of those 
ilready discovered belong to the latter, and, amongst them, the handsome and 
omewhat singular species before us, which was imported some years ago from 
Brazil, to the nursery of Messrs. Young at Epsom. A specimen which flowered 
here in 1840 furnished the subject of our representation. 
Since then, specimens wliich have flowered at different Nursery establishments 
n the vicinity of London, and especially one exhibited at a meeting of the Horti- 
ultural Society last November, by Mr. Jackson of Kingston, have fully confirmed 
ts worth as an ornamental species. It is decidedly one of the finest of its class ; 
)ut, as it only admits of a limited propagation, it is far from being a common 
)lant. 
Perhaps its nearest ally is the B. Barherii. That species, however, is 
sufficiently distinguished by its coarser habit, less numerous scales, and the /ibsence 
|f the fine sanguineous hue on the under side of the leaf, which adds so much to 
he beauty of the present. B. stigmosa., a species with large dark spots on the 
saf, appearing like decayed portions, and B. heracleifolia.^ both assimilate in 
'ossessing scaly appendages on the petioles and under surface of their leaves, but 
dmit of no comparison in point of excellence. 
B. ramentacea is a dwarf plant with very close-jointed stems, almost hidden 
i^ith its beautiful foliage, above which the flower-stalks rise a few inches, and 
VOL. XII.— -NO. cxxxvi. 
L 
