Blakea
(named after Martin Blake, of Antigua, a great promoter of useful knowledge). ORD. Melastomaceae. Handsome stove evergreen shrubs or trees. Flowers red, large, showy; peduncles axillary, terete, one-flowered, naked, opposite or solitary, shorter than the leaves, usually with brown tomentum. Leaves petiolate, three to five-nerved, coriaceous, glabrous above and shining, but usually densely clothed with rusty tomentum beneath. They thrive well in peat, or a mixture of loam and peat, and require to be liberally supplied with water, particularly in spring and summer. Cuttings root freely if taken from shoots that are quite ripe (otherwise they are apt to rot), planted in a pot of sand, and plunged in a moist heat, under a hand glass. B. quinquenervia (five-nerved). fl. flesh-coloured, large with white disks; peduncles twin, shorter than the petioles. June. l. elliptic, acuminated, naked, and shining on both surfaces, five nerved. h. 10ft. to 16ft. Guiana, 1820. (A. G. 210.) B. trinervia (three-nerved). fl. rose colour, large; peduncles solitary, longer than the petioles. June. l. oval-oblong, three-nerved, glabrous and shining on both surfaces in the adult state, and when young serrulated, petioles and branchlets clothed with rusty tomentum. Roots issuing from the branches and stems. h. 4ft. to 8ft. Jamaica, 1789. (B. M. 451.)