Begonia Flowers PicturesFor 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. 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.
Scarlet Begonia Flower PhotosThe 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.
White Begonia FlowerBecause 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 leaves, which are often large and variously marked or variegated, are usually asymmetric (unequal-sided). In most species the fruit is a winged capsule containing numerous minute seeds, although baccate fruits are also known.
Red Begonia FlowerThe 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. Terrestrial species in the wild are commonly upright-stemmed, rhizomatous, or tuberous.
Pink Begonia FlowerThe 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. With over 1,500 species, Begonia is one of the ten largest angiosperm genera.
