Begonia L.

Wikispecies has information related to: Begonia

Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia. "Begonia" is the common name as well as the generic name for all members of the genus.

The genus name, coined by Charles Plumier, a French patron of botany, honours Michel Bégon, a former governor of the French colony of Haiti. It was adopted by Linnaeus.

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Description

With over 1,500 species, Begonia is one of the ten largest angiosperm genera. The species are terrestrial (sometimes epiphytic) herbs or undershrubs and occur in subtropical and tropical moist climates, in South and Central America, Africa and southern Asia. Terrestrial species in the wild are commonly upright-stemmed, rhizomatous, or tuberous. The plants are monoecious, with unisexual male and female flowers occurring separately on the same plant, the male containing numerous stamens, the female having a large inferior ovary and two to four branched or twisted stigmas. In most species the fruit is a winged capsule containing numerous minute seeds, although baccate fruits are also known. The leaves, which are often large and variously marked or variegated, are usually asymmetric (unequal-sided).

Because of their sometimes showy flowers of white, pink, scarlet or yellow color and often attractively marked leaves, many species and innumerable hybrids and cultivars are cultivated. The genus is unusual in that species throughout the genus, even those coming from different continents, can frequently be hybridized with each other, and this has led to an enormous number of cultivars. The American Begonia Society classifies begonias into several major groups: cane-like, shrub-like, tuberous, rhizomatous, semperflorens (or wax begonias), rex, trailing-scandent, or thick-stemmed. For the most part these groups do not correspond to any formal taxonomic groupings or phylogeny and many species and hybrids have characteristics of more than one group, or fit well into none of them.

Cultivation

The different groups of begonias have different cultural requirements but most species come from tropical regions and therefore they and their hybrids require warm temperatures. Most are forest understory plants and require bright shade; few will tolerate full sun, especially in warmer climates. In general, begonias require a well-drained growing medium that is neither constantly wet nor allowed to dry out completely. Many begonias will grow and flower year-round but tuberous begonias usually have a dormant period, during which the tubers can be stored in a cool and dry place.Begonias of the semperflorens group (or wax begonias) are frequently grown as bedding plants outdoors. A recent group of hybrids derived from this group is marketed as "Dragonwing Begonias"; they are much larger both in leaf and in flower. Tuberous begonias are frequently used as container plants. Although most Begonia species are tropical or subtropical in origin, the Chinese species B. grandis is hardy to USDA hardiness zone 6 and is commonly known as the "hardy begonia". Most begonias can be grown outdoors year-round in subtropical or tropical climates, but in temperate climates begonias are grown outdoors as annuals, or as house or greenhouse plants.

Most begonias are easily propagated by division or from stem cuttings. In addition, many can be propagated from leaf cuttings or even sections of leaves, particularly the members of the rhizomatous and rex groups.

Popular culture

The cultivar Kimjongilia is a floral emblem of North Korea.

The Grateful Dead wrote the popular song "Scarlet Begonias".

In the motion film Mrs. Doubtfire, Miranda Hillard (played by actress Sally Field) arrives home to a chaotic party scene after she is called off of work early due to a neighbor's complaints. As she walks up the staircase to her house, she notices a goat eating plants in the flower pot next to the stairway and exclaims to the animal, "You ate my begonias!"^[1].

Species and cultivars

Species

Species include:

Cultivars and cultivar groups

• Angel wing begonia (hybrid)
• Begonia 'Immense'
• Begonia × sedenii
• Begonia × semperflorens-cultorum hort.
• Begonia × tuberhybrida Voss - Tuberous begonias (cultivar group)

Gallery

Begonia aconitifolia	A flowering begonia	Begonia cultivars come in many different colours, such as yellow	A Begonia leaf
A pair of blossoms, male and female

References and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Begoniaceae

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Begonia". Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• American Begonia Society
• Phylogenetic Relationships of the Afro-Malagasy Members of the Large Genus Begonia Inferred from trnL Intron Sequences
• A Phylogeny of Begonia Using Nuclear Ribosomal Sequence Data and Morphological Characters
• Begonia Boweri
• Begonia Masoniana
• Begonia Semperflorens
• Begonia Weltoniensis Tuberosa Elatior Hybrida