BEGONIA (named from M. Begon, a French patron of botany)

This article appears in Volume V03, Page 652 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BEC-BER

BEGONIA (named from M. Begon, a French patron of botany) , a large genus (natural order, Begoniaceae) of succulent herbs or undershrubs, with about three hundred and fifty species in tropical moist climates, especially

South

SOUTH
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

America and India. About one hundred and fifty species are known in cultivation,and innumerable varieties and hybrid forms. Many are tuberous. The

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

are usually showy and large, white, rose,

scarlet

SCARLET

or yellow in colour; they arc unisexual, the male containing numerous stamens, the female having a large inferior ovary and two to four branched or

twisted

TWISTED

stigmas. The fruit is a winged capsule containing numerous minute seeds. The leaves, which are often large and variegated, are unequal-sided.
Cuttings from flowering begonias root freely in sandy soil, if placed in heat at any season when moderately firm; as soon as rooted, they should be potted singly into 3-in. pots, in sandy

loam

LOAM (O.E. lam; the word appears in Dut. leem and Ger. Lehm; the ultimate origin is the root lai-, meaning " to be sticky," which is seen in the cognate " lime," Lat. limus, mud, clay)

mixed with

leaf

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

-mould and sand. They should be stopped to keep them bushy, placed in a light situation, and thinly shaded in the middle of very

bright

BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-188g)
BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON

days. In a few weeks they will require another shift. They should not be overpotted, but instead assisted by manure water. The pots should be placed in a light pit near the roof glass. The summer-flowering kinds will soon begin blooming, but the autumn and winter flowering sorts should be kept growing on in a temperature of from 55 to 6o by night, with a few degrees more in the day. The tuberous-rooted sorts require to be kept at rest in winter, in a medium temperature, almost but not quite dry. In

February

FEBRUARY

they should be potted in a compost of sandy

loam

LOAM (O.E. lam; the word appears in Dut. leem and Ger. Lehm; the ultimate origin is the root lai-, meaning " to be sticky," which is seen in the cognate " lime," Lat. limus, mud, clay)

and

leaf

LEAF (O. Eng. leaf, cf. Dutch loof, Ger. Laub, Swed. lof, &c.; possibly to be referred to the root seen in Gr. Ma-eta, to peel, strip)

-mould, and placed in a temperate pit until May or June, when they may be moved to the greenhouse for flowering. If they afterwards get at all pot-bound, weak manure should be applied. After blooming, the

supply

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

of water must be again slackened; in winter the plants should be stored in a dry place secure from frost; they are increased by

late

LATE

summer and autumn cuttings, after being partially cut down.

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