What does begonia look like - types and varieties of a flower

The birthplace of begonias is the tropics. But its various types feel great both on window sills and on flower beds in the open air, for which many flower growers love them. Most of the plants are unpretentious in care and have useful properties. As a garden culture, they are used by summer residents and landscape designers to create beautiful compositions. There are thousands of species and hybrids. The article contains descriptions of the most popular among flower growers.

Description of the genus

The genus Begonia (Begonia) belongs to the Begoniev family. It includes about a thousand natural species, and thanks to breeders, twice as many hybrids have been bred. The region of origin of the plant is considered to be West Africa. From there it got to the southeast of Asia, to Indochina, South America. Scientists note several centers of distribution of the Begoniev family: Central Africa, the Amazon River basin and Southeast Asia. The name of the family comes from the name of the ruler of Haiti M. Begon, who in the 17th century. organized an expedition to study the flora of the Antilles. During this expedition, the first six representatives of the genus known to man were discovered. Currently, the catalog of varieties and types of begonias has several thousand copies.

Flower in landscape design

Begonia can be annual or perennial. It grows like a shrub, semi-shrub, grass. Shrubs tend to have erect stems. Semi-shrubs come with creeping rhizomes or tubers.

Tuberous root system

Hybrids are common in landscape gardening design. Their advantages:

• unpretentiousness;
• the ability to grow in both sunny and shaded areas;
• variety of colors of flowers and leaves;
• ample opportunities for creating compositions on flower beds, alpine slides;
• the possibility of growing in street containers, vases.

Florists have appreciated the genus Begonia, the species of which are grown as indoor plants. Flower advantages:

• lack of smell, which makes the plant non-allergenic;
• year-round flowering of some species;
• unpretentiousness to conditions and care.

Types of begonias

All species are classified into several groups according to the presence and type of stem:

• decorative deciduous. The stem is absent, the leaves grow from a creeping rhizome. In leafy varieties of begonias, flowers are small, inconspicuous. Grown at home;
• bush. They have a geniculate branching stem;
• tuberous. There is a tuberous rhizome, stems grow from it. They are grown outdoors all year round in warm climates or moved indoors for the winter.

Varieties of begonias in the table:

Below are the popular types of flowers.

Mason's begonia comes from New Guinea. It is named after M. Mason, who imported it from Singapore. It is a rhizome perennial plant. Its height is up to 50 cm.The leaves are coarsely warty, asymmetric, green in size up to 15 cm.Their distinctive feature is a dark brown design in the center, reminiscent of an iron German cross.

Begonia Mason

Begonia Bauer is a hybrid bred in Germany in the 1970s by R. Bauer. Its small size, up to 30 cm, allows the plant to be stirred even on a small windowsill. Leaves no more than 8 cm in size on long petioles, pubescent with brown spots along the edges, hanging along the edges of the pot. This makes the begonia look like ampelous. The flowers are not as attractive as the foliage. With improper lighting, the color of the leaves becomes faded or dark, they lose their decorative effect.

Begonia red in the wild grows mainly in Asia and South America, India. Its characteristic feature is abundant, long flowering. Its buds and petals are bright and large, up to 15 cm in diameter. The edges of the petals are often corrugated. Duration of flowering of one peduncle reaches four weeks. The leaves are dark green, patterned. The height of the bush is on average 30 cm.

White begonia, also called camellia, belongs to the tuberous varieties. She is large-flowered terry. The plant is vigorous, about 30 cm high. The stems are thick. Flowering continues throughout the summer and fall. And for the winter it goes into a state of rest.

The yellow begonia has recumbent branched stems. It is a herbaceous shrub up to 50 cm high. The leaves are large in shape, oval with jagged edges. Their top is smooth and dark green, the bottom is fuzzy pink. Flowers up to 4 cm in size, collected in inflorescences, with bright yellow petals. They are terry, semi-double and regular. A characteristic feature is heterosexual flowers: female and male.

Yellow inflorescences

Terry pink begonia belongs to tuberous. Its height is about 30 cm. The flowers are small, rich pink colors. Leaves are small, dark green.

The name of the begonia fimbriata in Latin means "fringed". Its striking feature is lush flowers that resemble large carnations. All varieties belonging to this species are united by the terry shape of the inflorescences. The size, shape, color of the petals differ. It can be red (for example, in the Scarlett variety), white, pink, purple, orange. It is widespread in home floriculture and is used in outdoor plantings for the summer.

Spotted begonia is an ornamental leafy species. It is a sprawling flowering dwarf shrub. Leaves are shiny, smooth, irregular in shape: round, oblong, cordate. They are located on high petioles. The upper part of the leaves is dark green with silvery or whitish spots, the lower one is reddish. The flowers are small, in small inflorescences they form on a hanging pedicel.

Tick-borne begonia is one of the hybrid species that was obtained from hogweed. Plant height can reach 1.5 m. Leaves about 30 cm in diameter are covered with brown hairs, asymmetric in shape. The color of the leaf blades is green with a copper or bronze tint on top and reddish on the bottom. Flowers are collected in white or pink umbrellas.

Tick-borne begonia

Ever-flowering begonia, or bush - small herbaceous perennial. The largest varieties do not exceed 50 cm in height, and the smallest ones form bushes of 10 cm. All varieties are distinguished by decorative flowering. Flowers are double or simple pink, white, red, coral shades. They can be masculine (with four petals) or feminine (with five petals). Leaves are solid, glossy green, bronze colors. The ever-flowering begonia has several subspecies: graceful begonia (Gracilis), Lanchiana, Schmidt.

The unique flower Palomar Prince deserves special mention. It is distinguished from other varieties by the structure and color of the leaves. They are spiral copper green. Flowers of a light pink shade dissolve in winter. To grow Palomar Prince on a windowsill, no special knowledge is required, the view is unpretentious.

Anyone who has become acquainted with the Black Velvet (Black Prince) variety will not confuse what this begonia looks like. Dark, close to black leaf plates make it recognizable. They are charcoal in shape, similar in texture to velvet. The appearance of the leaves is very original.

Black velvet

Elatior is a hybrid bred in England in the 19th century. It is used for landscaping areas. It is an annual, abundantly flowering shrub. Its stem is dense, the leaves are heart-shaped, asymmetrical, rich green above and lighter below. Flowers up to 8 cm in size can bloom throughout the year. Popular varieties: Annabelle, Borias, Lorrain, Carnival.

One of the varieties of ampelous plants - Illumination - has a tuberous root system, thin long shoots, and medium-sized leaves. During the flowering period, many buds are formed, and then double flowers, which cascade down thin stems. It is grown both indoors and on sites.

The variety of species can surprise not only a beginner, but also an experienced grower. The biggest difficulty in growing them is often the choice of one or another variety. Plants that are unpretentious in their care almost do not create other problems.