B. goegoensis

Culture

Original Botanical Description or Link to

BEGONIA GOEGOENSIS, N. E. Br. [annotated by KFL] A very handsome species, closely allied to B. peltata, Hassk., which is figured in the Botanical Magazine at t.4676 as B. hernandiæfolia, and by an error is stated to be a native of Veraguas, whereas it is really a native of Java. From B. peltata the present plant differs in its larger, bullate (not smooth) leaves,with fewer nerves, differently coloured flowers, and the wings of the capsule of a different form. Its dwarf evergreen habit, the bronzy lustre of its leaves, and the pretty rosy·pink flowers render it a very charming and desirable decorative plant. The following is a full description of it :- Stem short, creeping, rooting, ¼ - ½ of an inch thick, green, with small white spots, internodes very short, almost undeveloped. Stipules broadly ovate, acute, aristate [bearing a small bristle], slightly keeled on the back, 5-7 lines [.4 - .6in.] long, 4--6 lines [.3 - .5 in.]broad, reddish·tinted. Petioles erect, 3-4½ inches long, 2½ -to 4 lines [.2 -.3 in.] thick, four-angled, with unequal concave sides, glabrous, except a few :'( setæ [bristles] at the apex and base, light green, or tinged with purple. Lamina [leaf blades] peltate, 6-7 nerved, orbicularovate, shortly cuspidate·acuminate, 4½ -7½ inches long, 3½ -6 inches broad, glabrous, except a few hairs along the nerves beneath, bullate, the bullations depressed around the insertion of the petiole, margin with short rounded subrevolute [somewhat rolled-backwards] teeth, very sparsely ciliate, upper surface rich dark green, with beautiful bronzy reflections (the younger leaves lighter), the course of the nerves of a crystalline pale green, undersurface and margins purple·red, nerves flat and very sparsely hairy beneath, scarcely prominent above. Peduncle 6-10 inches long, terete, glabrous, green or purple-red; cyme monœcious [having separate male and female flowers], repeatedly dichotomously branched, the nodes green, ebracteate, or with very few minute subulate [awl-shaped] bracts. Flowers 5-6 lines [.4 - .5 in.] across their longest diameter, sepals orbicular-ovate obtuse, rosy-pink outside, pale pink inside; petals one-third as large as the sepals, obovate, white; male flowers with two sepals and two petals, stamens monadelphous in a globose very shortly stipitate [stalked] head, anthers yellow, obovate; female flowers. with two sepals and one petal, styles connate, stigmas sinuous, ovary green, three.celled, three-winged, wings purple.red, unequal, the larger one deltoid obtuse, placentas entire, ovate-acute in transverse section. Only the last flower developed on each ultimate division of the cyme is female, all the others upon the cyme are male, and have fallen off before the females expand. A native of Goegoe, in Sumatra, where it was dis· covered by Mr. Curtis, and introduced by him into Messrs. Veitch & Sons' nursery, where it has been flowering for some time past. - N. E. Brown, Gard. Chron. II, :71, 1882