Cultivar
B. ‘Richard Robinson’
Photos
5 photos
Identity
- Genus
- Begonia
- Name
- B. ‘Richard Robinson’
- Originator
- A. D. Robinson
- Date of Origin
- 1926
- Place
- California
- Country
- USA
- Region
- America
- Plant Type
- Semi-Tuberous
- Female Parent
- B. dregei var. macbethii
- Synonyms and Comments
- Cited as a seedling of the female parent;
- Publication Reference
- ADR; B01 dp228; B73 d130; B97 r235; The Begonian, May 1976; The Begonian, Jun 1971; A.B.Graf: Pictorial Cyclopedia of Exotic Plants Hardcover, 1978.
- Article References
- The Begonian, September 1944, p 396-7;
- Photo References
- The Begonian, May 1976; The Begonian, Aug 1977; Begonias, Misono 1974: 141 (239);
Plant
- Description
- BEGONIA RICHARD ROBINSON by ALICE M. CLARK, San Diego, Calif. When discussing begonias of the semi-tuberous type, one treats a difficult subject. There have been so many crosses and variations that it is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. Then, when the plants are finally sorted out and identified, one is quite likely to discover that new developments have uncovered a different name. But it is all good fun and a challenge to keep our mental arteries fluid instead of fixed and hardened. The more flexible we are in adopting a qualified name, new or old, the sooner our begonia consciousness becomes streamlined and up-to-date. B. Richard Robinson, our subject this month, belongs to this semi-tuberous group. It is reputed a rare and difficult plant to grow. I was fortunate enough to find some fine specimens in two of our local nurseries. Necessarily, I selected the smallest for my sketch. It extends just six inches above the four-inch pot and is about ten inches across. The story behind our model's origin is one that illustrates the patience and persistence of a true hybridizer. Dregei, var. McBethii, which used to be known simply by the latter name, is a plant of unknown origin. Mrs. Buxton informs us that it was listed in Gause and Bissell's 1892 catalog with no further elucidation. Out on Point Lorna in the Rosecroft Gardens, Alfred Robinson deducted that McBethii was a species, as all of the seedlings were alike. He undertook to further the proof of his theory by growing a thousand plants from McBethii seed~ He found that they all came true - except one. What could be more appropriate than that he should name that single, "one in a thousand," for his own father, an English Magistrate, Richard Robinson! This begonia first appeared in the Rosecroft catalog for 1925. The fact that it is almost twenty years old argues that it has not been too delicate to preserve and has certainly been worth the effort. I am told that the flowers are white and not very noteworthy, blooming late, if at all. Its chief beauty is in the gracefully cut leaves with what the Rosecroft guide describes as white variegations, which look silvery to me. The individual leaf is much larger than either Dregei or McBethii. Like them, it has four to five pointed lobes arranged unequally, three on one side of the slanting main division, which if; four inches long when mature, and two minor sections on the other side. The notched and finely toothed edges, combined with the silver spots, give the leaves a very sprightly pattern. Like Dregei, there is a marked red zone at the junction of stem and leaf hut there are no red veinings either front or back. A major variation is a sanding of tiny white hairs on both sides of the leaf and a tufting around the leaf axil, showing white against the red. The veins are indented on the surface, raised and faintly red-tinted beneath. The upper leaf color is the shining green of a fresh pea pod, duller below. The silver splashes are most irregular – usually large between the main nerves and stippled out toward the edges. These spots and hairs give the plant every appearance of a miniature rex, though the texture is much thinner. The main stalk is a green-brown, with the thick swellings characteristic of the semi-tuberous type. It has the compact, bushy habit of McBethii rather than that of Dregei. The center never grows very tall, but a well-raised, spreading plant may be at least eighteen inches over and a foot or so high. The internodes of the stalk are short. The new leaves, rising from them are encased in pale green stipules, inconspicuous even when they dry up. When the young leaf begins to unfold, its long points look like a medieval dragon's claws. The petiole is a pale green, grooved along one side. The red spots and silver splashes on Richard Robinson make it similar, on a small scale, to Mrs. Fewkes' ‘Silvadore’, which is a seedling of Rigida, whose old "handle" was Ecuadoriensis. It too, is hard to raise. The Robinson variety requires a warm location. Sometimes it is temperamental, drooping and losing its leaves for 'no apparent reason. I have drawn it in a pot for I doubt if it is ever risked in the ground. All the articles in the Begonian on what Eastern members can raise are intensely interesting to us on the West Coast. They also' aid me in selecting plants to sketch that will be more helpful to them. I t was nice to learn from Phillip M. Post's fine July contribution that he shares our enthusiasm for Richard Robinson and is able to grow it successfully in Worcester, Massachusetts. We would welcome further news of its blooming and- continued good health. Owning this exotic beauty is an exciting experience. It has been a pleasure to present to you one of the treasures among Rosecroft Introductions.
Lineage
Parents
Cited as a seedling of the female parent;
Ancestry tree
Descendants
No recorded descendants.
Culture
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