If you could take a easy stroll across all of the countries near the equator , in all the tropical and subtropical area , you might be favourable enough to find the 2,000 or so begonia species in existence growing in their aboriginal habitat in the wilderness .
From misty oceansides to high - elevation forests , they come from a divers range of mood .
It would be an exciting adventure to check into them all out . The only problem is that you believably would n’t be able to secern what case you were looking at from one to the next …
Stipules. Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
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Okay , so you likely wo n’t go on a world - round wander anytime soon , but even if you ’re just shopping at your local nursery , it can still be next to out of the question to identify the various begonia out there if you are n’t some sort of expert .
Heck , even the experts scramble .
Stipules. Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
Is this one of those wax hybrids with big prime ? Or is this the kind that does n’t flower well but has gorgeous foliage ? Maybe it ’s both ?
We ’re going to help you figure out how to identify begonias base on a few cardinal characteristic .
After examining the foliage and stem , you ’ll be capable to confidently narrow down what you ’re looking at , no expert cognition demand .
Here ’s what we ’ll discuss to aid make that befall :
How to Identify Begonias
While the characteristics of the flowers and leaf are the most obvious thing we can look at on a works , the stems and roots can give us an even better idea of the species of begonia .
We can use all four chemical element to make an educated guess about the identity of a finicky plant .
Though they vary wildly in appearance , all begonia have alternating leaves with stipules , which are lilliputian structures that grow at the base of a leafstalk .
They all have disjoined female and male prime , plus some other quality that only botanist will really care about , like inferior ovary and unifying stamen installation .
Most commonly civilise variety have asymmetric leaves , overweight stems , and fair striking flowers . But there are exceptions . B. bognerilooks more like grass , for lesson , and you might not even notice the flowers .
Do n’t care , you do n’t have to memorise all this ! The important thing is to be able to take a look at the leaves , stems , and bloom , plus the roots , if you may .
Begonias are actually classified by the American Begonia Society by the variety of source they have : fibrous , tuberous , or rhizomatous . Of course , all types have some fibrous roots , but this class refers to those thatsolelyhave stringy roots .
lease ’s talk about that group first . Then , we ’ll talk about the different leaves you might come across and how to categorize them .
Fibrous Rooted
Fibrous - root begonia have strictly hempen roots without any tuberous or rhizomatous roots .
But you do n’t need to drudge up the plant and canvass the root to determine if that ’s what you ’re looking at . There are other cue .
Look at the stem turn and leave for a breath .
If your plant has stem that look kind of likebamboo , meaning they are straight , have foresighted internodes , and have little bumps where the leaves come forth from , you have a cane - alike eccentric .
Cane-Like
Cane - like begonia have become much more popular in recent days . I think that has to be because they ’re easygoing , and many have eye - catching foliage .
Obviously , this group stands apart because of its cane - like stems that give it some resemblance to bamboo . Beyond the cane - like root word , you’re able to look to the leaves to serve define this chemical group .
Most of the cane - same case on the commercial market have some amount of silver spot on the top airfoil and purple on the underside , with most having some purple on the upper side of the leaves as well .
The leaves emerge from a swollen node on the stem , another equipment characteristic that contribute to the bamboo - corresponding resemblance .
For example , angel - backstage begoniaslike the wildly popularB. maculata , with its farseeing folio speckled in burnished silver dots , are in this chemical group .
If you see the characteristic backer - wing leaf shape , it ’s probably in the cane - like grouping , though many rex type have this as well .
Within this group , there are three types : ‘ Lenore Olivier , ’ hammer , and Superba . There are around 80 metal money and thousands of cultivar in the cane - comparable group .
Most of them are grown for the leaf , but some have large cascading bunch of pink , red , livid , or orange blossoms .
All Superba types have lobed or crack leaves , silver markings , and purple coloration . Those of the beetle case are maroon or dark-skinned pinkish - red , and those of ‘ Lenore Olivier ’ are smooth - edged and solid green .
If you ’re in the market for one of these , you could bring home a beautifulB. maculataplant with its polka - Department of Transportation foliage in ash gray , green , and red from Costa Farms .
B. maculata
It’savailable via Amazonas a 14 - inch - marvelous works in a decorative pot .
Semperflorens
Historically , this has been the most popular group . Also known aswax begonias , these can be discover by their boneheaded , succulent , waxy leaves .
The foliage is commonly green or bronze , but some cultivar are vary or even have bloodless new leaves .
nurseryman love these because they bloom nonstop in bright pink , white , and red . Plus , they ’re relatively drouth - tolerant , and seed propagates readily .
Most that you ’ll come across at stock are hybrids , andB. cucullatais usually one of the parent metal money .
The inscrutable bronze leave of ‘ Viking XL ’ are enough to recommend it , but the vibrant , inch - widely , red efflorescence steal the show .
‘ Viking XL ’
It ’s a variety that ’s also disease - resistant , and maintains its thickset flesh without becoming leggy .
Nab a four - works bundleat Burpee .
Shrub
Multiple stems growing out of the ground point to the shrub mathematical group .
It ’s a little hard to delimitate this group just by the foliation . The leave of absence can be suave and shiny , or hairy and velvety . So , look at the stems first .
There should be lots of them , rather than a single or small numeral of stems . Those stems should also have lots of branch .
Because the foliation is so diverse , this group is subdivided by leaf eccentric . These groups are :
stripped character are hairless ( glabrous ) . Hairy , of row , have ok whisker on either or both sides . Miniatures have midget leaves on correspondingly small-scale plants .
typical is kind of a catch - all group for the plants that have strange or uniquely interesting leaves , like heavily lob , palmate form .
The bush grouping is in the first place grown for the foliar display , but some have pretty , long - lasting flower , usually in blank but sometimes pinkish or cerise .
prove the growth ofB. metallica , as pictured above , to get a good idea of what they wait like .
Thick-Stemmed
This group is identified by , of course , the blockheaded stem , but also the folio growth .
As the root word eld , all the lower leaf overleap off , leaving just those at the tip of the root . The leafage can seem like that of those in any other group .
Leaves can be waxy , hairy , velvety , or placid , and smooth - cutting , jagged , or lobed . They can be green , bronze , red , or purple , and might have silvery markings .
Common hybrid cultivar and species includeB.‘Bangles,’B.egregia , B. ludwigii , B. rigida , B.‘Rudy,’B. venosaandB. vitifolia .
These are some of the most difficult types to grow because they ’re finicky about their conditions , so you do n’t see a lot of them .
While you could pinch them to encourage branching , they typically only produce one or two stems with no branches , which makes them less visually invoke to some growers . That ’s another cause why they are n’t coarse .
Trailing-Scandent
As you may have gathered , this grouping is delimitate by its tracking , arching growth habit .
Some can be trained as climbers and some will go after over a wall or pot . Many have beautiful flowers , though others are farm for their foliation alone .
The leafage are typically round , heart - influence , or oval , with placid or jaggy gross profit margin .
The surface can be smooth or haired , and it might have raised areas . Most have relatively small leaves . The flowers are usually pink or red .
B. convolvulacea , B. glabra , B. molleri , B. radicans , B. solananthera , B. thelmae , and their hybrid are the most vulgar types .
Rhizomatous
If you were to dig down just below the soil surface and do some explore , you ’d encounter succulent , horizontal roots for all of the begonia in this grouping .
These rhizome are in reality an elongation of the radical of the plant growing underground .
Rex-Cultorum
This is , by far , the most common case of rhizomatous begonia . These can be identified by looking at the foliage .
It ’s colored with green , purple , red , silver , or any compounding of these . They can also have reflective silver-tongued marking .
This type can be confused with cane - comparable begonia , and the only way to be certain is to look at the root .
Most of these are cultivars ofB. rex , of which there are over 4,000 , but there are lots of hybrids , too . These are grown for their foliation and not so much for the blooms , which are small and deficiency colour compared to many others .
get word about growing rex begonias in our guide .
Upright Jointed
The works in this subgroup might be mistaken for cane - like type at first glimpse . Beyond the different stem , these industrial plant run to fork out more than the cane - similar types .
Look atB. diademafor a good instance .
Tuberous
Tuberous begonia form large tubers as a storage mechanism to get them through the dry season . These are typically grown for the large efflorescence .
Now , do n’t confuse ” tuberous begonias ” ( B.xtuberhybrida ) with those that have tuberous root .
Tuberous begonia is the mutual name for tuberous loanblend , but there are many species that have tuberous roots as well .
The ×tuberhybridamembers of this chemical group have the largest blossoms of all begonias , as well as the biggest range of flower colors and traffic pattern .
They ’re some of the most democratic character , and you’re able to register all about them inour guide to maturate tuberous begonias .
The leaf is typically large and round . The leaves are glowering to intermediate Green River on the upper surface and lighter immature on the underside , with or without red nervure .
Of course , there are variations , with some with toothed or lobate margins , but that ’s the most common .
Augustia
There are 12 metal money from tropical East Africa in this grouping , all with tuberous roots .
B. dregeiandB. sutherlandiiare the most common in cultivation .
B. dregeihas green foliation with some amount of bolshy or empurpled , and plants might have whitened or silver spots . B. sutherlandiifeatures pale green foliation with pinkish or red - tinged veins or edge .
Bolivian
B. boliviensis , known as Bolivian begonia , has leave-taking with a dark light-green surface and paler green undersides , both with okay hairs .
They can be lancelike to ovate and are always crooked . Some have a serrated margin .
These plants have a weeping growth wont and vibrant crimson flowers .
Elatior
Also known as Cheimantha , Hiemalis , or Reiger , this subgroup is made up of tuberous hybrids , and it ’s kind of a apprehension - all for those that do n’t match in other groups .
Many haveB. dregei , B. grandis , B.xsemperflorens , orB. socotranain their origin .
Many are winter flowering and have masses of pink , salmon , or red blossom . You ’ll often find them sold as vacation , Christmas , or Yuletide begonia .
Identifying Begonias by Their Leaves
You absolutely can not identify a begonia by the leaves alone . There are just too many species with interchangeable - looking leaves . But they are a good position to get down your investigation .
observe the most defining characteristic of the foliage and go from there .
Waxy Texture
plant with thick , waxy leaves are usually wax types . It ’s right there in the name , after all .
Less commonly , they can also be rhizomatous mintage or cultivar , or thick - stemmed sinewy type . strike it ’s a wax begonia unless there is some other indication that hints otherwise .
Silvery Spots, Stripes, or Marks
Those with silver markings areusuallyeither fibrous cane - similar or thickset - stem type , or rhizomatous rex .
Tuberous augustia types can also have these markings .
Angel Wing Shape
Some have leaf that bet like the holy person backstage depicted in classical paintings by Michelangelo Caravaggio , Raphael , Vernet , and Thayer .
The leave typically look one by one , so you have to conceive of that the poor holy man lost one wing somewhere along the way .
If yours has this leafage shape and it ’s attach to a cane - like stem , you may be sure you have a rhizomatous , cane - like type .
Many are hybrids or cultivars ofB. aconitifolia , B. coccinea , B. listadaand , orB. maculata , to name a few .
Fern-Like Leaves
There are a few character out there that look a bit likeferns . Fern begonia ( B. bipinnatifida ) is , by far , the most coarse .
give its idolisation for red-hot , humid environment , it has gained a prima report as a terrarium plant .
This rhizomatous eccentric has fleshy light-green and maroon leaves .
Strappy Leaves
Not all begonia have panoptic leave . Some are minute and strappy , resembling those of lily or even grass .
B. herbaceaandB. lanceolataare rhizomatous , and often obnubilate with one another , whileB. komoensisandB. bognerihave tubers .
Peltate Leaves
Some begonias have leaves that expect like little umbrellas , with the leafstalk attached to the underside of the leaf somewhere near the middle .
These include the rhizomatousB. leprosae , with its hairless , asymmetrical greenish leaves and lowly flowers , as well asB. sudjanaewith its light green , hairy asymmetrical foliation .
Palmate Leaves
If the leave of the plant look like the laurel wreath of a helping hand with an curious number of finger’s breadth - like pamphlet , it ’s probably fibrousB. aconitifolia , tuberousB. dregei , fibrousB. luxurians , rhizomatousB. palmata , or one of the many rex hybrid .
So Many Begonias, So Little Time
Alright , so even the most experient begonia grower struggles now and then to figure out what they ’re looking at , but hopefully , you finger a bit better fit out to get out there and identify away .
As long as you may look at the base , stems , and leaf , you ’re armed with the pecker you want to do some detective work .
Then , go along on your begonia journeyby checking out a few of our other guides next :
Photos by Kristine Lofgren © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL right field RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . production photo via Burpee and Costa Farms . Uncredited exposure : Shutterstock .
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