Begonia
Begonia aconitifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Cucurbitales Family: Begoniaceae Genus: Begonia L.
Species
About 1500 species; see text Image File history File links B._aconitifolia_JV_250x242. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Cucurbitaceae (gourd family) Begoniaceae (begonia family) Datiscaceae Tetramelaceae Corynocarpaceae Coriariaceae Anisophylleaceae The Cucurbitales are an order of flowering plants, included in the rosid group of dicotyledons. ... Genera Begonia Hillebrandia Begoniaceae is a family of flowering plants with about 1400 species occurring in the subtropics and tropics of both the New World and Old World. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23[], 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ...

Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae. The only other member of the family Begoniaceae is Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands. The genus Symbegonia is now included in Begonia. "Begonia" is the common name as well as the generic name for all members of the genus. For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Genera Begonia Hillebrandia Begoniaceae is a family of flowering plants with about 1400 species occurring in the subtropics and tropics of both the New World and Old World. ... Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 2,400 km in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the Island of Hawai‘i. ...

With ca. 1500+ 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). Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... An example of an epiphyte assemblage of orchids and bromeliads in a garden setting The term epiphyte refers to any plant that grows upon or attached to another living plant. ... Herbs: basil Herbs (IPA: hə(ɹ)b, or əɹb; see pronunciation differences) are plants grown for any purpose other than food, wood or beauty. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Map of Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... A stem is the main axis of a vascular plant that is divided into nodes and internodes and has one or more leaves or buds at the nodes. ... In botany, a rhizome is a horizontal, usually underground stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. ... Oca tubers For the fungal genus, see Truffle. ... Plant sexuality deals with the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. ... Stamens of the Amaryllis with prominent anthers carrying pollen Insects, while collecting pollen, accidentally transfer it from one flower to another, bringing about pollination The stamen is the male organ of a flower. ... Ovary in plants is the female part of a flower. ... Amaryllis style and stigmas A carpel is the female reproductive organ of a flower; the basic unit of the gynoecium. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... Flowers and fruit (capsules) of the ground orchid, Spathoglottis plicata. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary using the Transwiki process. ... Foliage redirects here. ...

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, 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. // In biology, hybrid has two meanings. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ...

The genus name honors Michel Bégon, a French patron of botany. Michel Bégon de la Picardière, (21 March 1667 – 18 January 1747), was from a French family with a history of service to the King of France in fiscal and judicial matters. ... Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ...

Cultivation

A flowering begonia

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. Download high resolution version (1378x1156, 1284 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1378x1156, 1284 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Begonia cultivars come in many different colours, such as yellow.

Begonias of the semperflorens group 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1765x1670, 373 KB) Summary A yellow Begonia cultivar, variety Non-stop. Image by Pharaoh Hound. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1765x1670, 373 KB) Summary A yellow Begonia cultivar, variety Non-stop. Image by Pharaoh Hound. ... Temperature scale of hardiness zones, showing the average annual minimum temperature boundaries for the zones A hardiness zone is a geographically-defined zone in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by temperature hardiness, or ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone. ...

A Begonia leaf

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. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 507 pixel Image in higher resolution (3000 × 1900 pixel, file size: 3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 507 pixel Image in higher resolution (3000 × 1900 pixel, file size: 3. ...

The cultivar Kimjongilia is a floral emblem of North Korea. Kimjongilia (Korean: Kimjŏngilhwa) is one of two national flowers of North Korea, named after the leader Kim Jong-il. ...

References and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Begoniaceae

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• 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
• A recircumscription of Begonia based on nuclear ribosomal sequences