| Description | The Garden, v. 46, (1894) B. Paul Bruant: This handsome Begonia is a hybrid or seedling which was distributed three or four years ago by M. Bruant, nurseryman, Poitiers (Vienne, France). Its origin has not been published, but probably B. phyllomaniaca and P. manicata are its parents. It has the proliferous character peculiar to the former species, namely, that of producing myriads of leafy buds, really microscopic plants, all over the stem and leaf-stalks, hence, I suppose, the name, which means literally leaf-mad. But whilst B. phyllomaniaca is not easily kept in health and never grows into a presentable specimen, B. Paul Bruant is easily grown and forms perfect pot specimens. It branches freely, its stems keep compact and leafy, and its leaves are metallic-green on long red-tinted stalks. The flowers are freely produced from the leaf axils in crowded, elegant, compound cymes, a well-grown plant being when at its best almost a ball of bright pink bloom. It flowers in winter, and is ill every sense a first-rate Begonia to grow for furnishing the warm house with flowers during the autumn and winter months. At Kew it is grown in a tropical house, and fresh plants are raised annually from cuttings put in early in spring. These are potted on as they require it until they are put into 6-inch pots, in which the remain till they flower. Treated thus, it is possible to grow B. Paul Bruant into nice specimens 18 inches high and through. The flowers last well. M. Bruant says it flowers from November to May, and that it has proved a serviceable plant for the decoration of rooms. So far as my experience goes, it is certainly the best of the hybrid or seedling Begonias hitherto distributed by M. Bruant. - W. W.; One of our showiest begonias is Begonia "Paul Bruant," a french hybrid of B. heracleifolia lingipila and B. frutescent (introduced by Bniant in 1888). It is fibrous rooted, although the stem is so large and rough that it suggests a rhizome. The leaf stems are slender and pinkish, with red flecks, sparsely covered with short, white hairs, which form a collar at the sinus. These are sub tended by thin, pale green, long-pointed stipules, which soon dry, but persist. The leaves emerge a delicate pinkish-tan, bur become light green in maturity. Their shape is a narrow oval, tapering to a, sharp point, with small pointed lobes, sharply toothed, along the edges. The upper surface seems smooth, but close inspection shows scattered white hairs, very short and stiff. The veins are so pale as to be almost white. The lower surface is much the same, except that the veins are more prominent. The inflorescence is a cyme, spreading almost to a circle, which in full bloom suggests a ruffled hoop skirt of palest pink. The flower stems (peduncles) are long, green with red dots. They divide into, many fine pedicels, pink, with a collar at each fork and at the junctions with the flowers. Each fork carries a pair of heart shaped bracts, pink at first, but still ornamental when dry. The male flowers, small and pink, drop before opening, so it is hard to be sure of the number of petals, perhaps only two. The female flowers are large and pink. The number of petals varies from two to five, but, from their placement, the number, would seem to be five. The pistils are three, each forked, each fork ending jn a knob, rather than the more common spiral. The ovary and two of the wings are green, the "third wing is pink, larger and more angular than the others. This plant has the peculiarity of producing tiny plantlets on its stems and, less often, on its leaves. That this trait is shared by Begonia phyllomaniaca suggests a relationship not yet confirmed by research. It is said that these plantlets can be induced to develop into mature planes. Many of us have failed in the effort. Propagation by tip cuttings is easier. Begonia "Paul Bruant" is an easy subject for house culture, though it tends to become gaunt with age, a fault that can be overcome by frequent renewal. MAY TAFT DREW; La Semaine horticole et revue des cultures colonials, v. 3 (1899) Begonia Paul Bruant: We must again attract the attention of lovers of beautiful flowering plants to this Begonia whose foliage is very ornamental; the clusters of flowers are most picturesque and the flowers of a very distinctive shade that harmonizes so well with the color of the foliage. It would be difficult to find a plant more charming and more grateful for the care lavished upon it than this Begonia Paul Bruant. |
