Sonerila
(from Sootli-Soneri-ila, the Khassee name for one of the species). ORD. Melastomaceae. A genus comprising about fifty-three species of stove herbs or small shrubs, of variable habit, glabrous, hairy, or slightly paleaceous, caulescent or stemless and scapigerous, natives of mountainous parts of the East Indies. Flowers often rosy, disposed in scorpioid racemes or spikes; calyx glabrous or bristly, with an oblong, turbinate, or campanulate tube, and a three-lobed, short, often dilated limb; petals three, ovate, obovate, or oblong, acute, acuminate, or obtuse; stamens three, equal (very rarely six, the alternate ones smaller). Leaves equal or dimorphous, frequently membranous, entire or serrulated, three to five-nerved. Several ornamental species have been introduced. They require a damp atmosphere, and should be allowed partial shade. A compost of fibrous peat, broken small, with a little chopped sphagnum, some sand, and small pieces of charcoal or crocks, intermixed, is most suitable. Propagation may be effected by seeds, which ripen freely; or by cuttings, inserted singly in small pots, during spring, and placed beneath a bell-glass, in a propagating house. All flower in the summer.
S. Bensoni (Benson's).* fl. rose-purple; stamens six; anthers all yellow, not produced at the base; peduncle upwards and raceme hairy. 1873. "This plant seems exactly S. speciosa. The change of habitat and forcing in rich soil in an English stove may have developed the three stamens usually suppressed in the genus (?)" (C. B. Clarke). (B. M. 6049.) S. elegans (elegant), of Hooker. A synonym of S. speciosa. S. grandiflora (large-flowered). fl. mauve; petals nearly 3/4in. long, elliptic; racemes dense-flowered; peduncles short, terminal. l. crowded on the branchlets, 1in. to 2in. long, oblong or elliptic, narrowed at both ends, acute, glabrous, bristly-serrated. Stems very woody below, branching round. h. 1ft. 1856. (B. M. 5354.) S. margaritacea (pearl-spotted).* fl. rose-coloured, eight to ten in a corymb; peduncles red, terminal, generally surrounded at base by a whorl of sub-sessile leaves. l. opposite, oblong-or ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate; veins oblique, parallel, very dark glossy-green above, with oval, white, margaritaceous spots, arranged in single lines or series, between them; under surface pale, the veins red-purple. Stems rather weak and sub-procumbent, 8in. to 10in. long, rich scarlet. 1854. (B. M. 5104; F. d. S. 1126.) The variety argentea has leaves surfaced with silvery-grey; in marmorata, they are banded with silvery-grey.
S. m. Hendersoni (Henderson's).* fl. bright lilac-rose, abundantly produced, with prominent, lemon-yellow, arrow-shaped anthers. l. ovate, flat, dark olive-green, studded over the whole surface with pearly-white spots. h. 6in. to 8in. 1875. A compact and free-flowering plant. (F. M. n. s. 159; I. H. n. s. 230; R. G. 897.) S. orbiculata (round-leaved). A synonym of S. speciosa. S. speciosa (showy). fl. mauve; petals 5/8in. long, round-elliptic, acute; raceme often sub-paniculate, with eight to fourteen flowers, and very hairy. l. 2in. to 3in. long, ovate-elliptic, acute, glabrous or nearly so, denticulated or slightly serrated; petioles 1in. to 2in. long. Stem nearly or quite glabrous below, ending in a long peduncle, villous upwards. h. 9in. to 12in. 1856. (B. M. 5026; F. d. S. 2442.) SYNS. S. elegans (B. M. 4978), S. orbiculata.
S. stricta (erect). fl. rose-purple, small; petals obovate. l. 1/4in. to 1in. long, lanceolate or elliptic, narrowed at each end, with scattered, lax hairs. Stem 3in. to 7in. high, erect, often branched, more or less puberulo-pubescent, and also with long, lax, spreading hairs. 1848. (B. M. 4394.)