Is this a rex begonia?

This last spring I was in a office building and came across this beauty. It is one of the most attractive plants I have ever seen. The woman who owned it said it was a begonia and that she had grown it from a cutting that she had gotten from another person in the building. She said they grew all over the city (Washington DC), but I failed to see them. Is this a rex type? I had always thought of begonias as pinkish little frilly things that grandmas grew. So if this is what it is, I'll need bows, cookie recipes and a wig because I'm hooked. Or maybe just change my ideas of who grows begonias. The recipes would be good tho...

-FM

A close-up

No bows or wigs needed, what you have is a begonia for sure! LOL. I looks like you may have 'Persian Brocade' a rhizomatous type begonia.
Easy to grow! Take a look at the sticky link (http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/626497/) and scroll down to 'Begonia types' and you'll see what kind of diversity there is!

As another DG'er mentioned, THEY ARE ADDICTING! you've been duly warned!

Yes - I think you nailed it. Even if that is not exactly the one, it is close enough. There was a Persian Brocade for sale on eBay for $3.00 that I just missed. Foo. A plea to the seller to relist is going out tonight.

You weren't kidding about variety either. Dwarf rexes? Sounds a little oxymoronic to me, but then in another year I might be buried in them. Are rexes more finicky growers than the rhizomatous species? They originally caught my eye when I was trying to figure out what I had photographed, but there is something called 'Green Velvet" on the Kartuz website that is just stellar and it is also rhizomatous.

This is all I need, another addiction. I had it down to caffeine, woodworking tools and annoying cats. Thank you for the help. I'll read the fine documentation and go through all the threads here. That should pour gas on the fire.

-FM

Begonias are a pretty good addiction to catch. Great foliage plants, super bloomers, fairly easy to propagate and grow. Rexies are a bit more tempermental out west but you Texans and other Southerners have the humidity they love!

Hope you'll hang out, pull up a comfy chair and start throwing gas on the fire!!