Some miniatures are of the angel-wing, cane-stemmed type; some are from the hirsute, hairy-leaved group; some can’t be categorized.
albo-picta—Small angel wing with low, arched branches; silver-spotted, sharp-pointed slender leaves; clusters of off-white flowers.
bartonea (‘Winter Jewel’)—This one’s a flirt, flaunting its leaves and tiny pink-tinged flowers one wintry day, collapsing completely the next. It can’t bear dry air or chills but will grow up again cheerfully from the roots. The foliage is finely scalloped on the edges, washed with russet in the center and along the veins, and completely overlaid with silver sheen.
‘Dainty Spray’—Impudent dwarf with little angel-wing leaves, bouquets of face-powder-pink flowers dripping from the drooping stems.
dregei—Maple-leaf begonia with sharply cut, thumbnail-sized leaves bronzy with purple veins, white flowers. This is a semituberous type, the main stem swelling to look like a bulb above the soil at the base. Pinching regularly keeps it fairly small. May be dormant in winter. The variety macbethi has smaller leaves completely green, white flowers.
‘Dwarf Houghtoni’—For me, this stays under six inches high and covers itself with pointed leaves upholstered with sheer, tawny-pink velvet. The clusters of large white flowers with pink whiskers are almost too heavy for the branches to hold.
‘Medora’—Miniature angel wing with two-inch, flat silver-spotted leaves and white flowers. Also available as ‘Green Medora,’ with plain green leaves and watermelon-pink flowers.
richardsiana—Another semituberous maple-leaf type, the leaves smallest of all and deeply cut almost into lace. Flowers are faint pink.
Achimenes, one of the most beautiful gesneriads.