This beautiful plant differs from all the others of
this section with which we are acquainted by its very
short nectariferous tube. It is generally supposed to
be the offspring of P. Beaufortianum, with which it
agrees pretty well in habit; but that has a nectariferous
tube twice as long as the calyx, and if it is a mule
that has been produced by that plant, we cannot at all
conceive what was its other parent. It may be a ^distinct
species. The nearest to it of any we find described
is P. gloriosum of Link’s Enumeratio. We have been
acquainted with it in the collections about London for
several years, where it has always passed under the
name of the Princess Charlotte's Geranium: we have
also seen it enumerated in some foreign catalogues as
a variety of P. Beaufortianum. It is certainly a very
desirable plant, but is rather more tender than some of
the others, and suffers more from too much wet than it
does from cold, The best soil to make it thrive is a
mixture of turfy loam, peat, and sand, and the pots to
be well drained with potsherds. Cuttings strike root
freely, if planted in pots and placed on a shelf in the
greenhouse.
Our drawing was taken at the Nursery of Messrs.
Colvill last summer.