Can anyone tell me exactly which Begonia this is? I'll post a few pics. Thanks!
Need help ID'n this Begonia...please!
Another pic of the same plant.
One more for your viewing pleasure.......
I have no idea of the name, but it is sure pretty!
I have one that bloomed this summer. I bought mine from a brilliant plant man at a flea market. Mine is just one shoot, so I have alot to look forward to if it fills out like yours. He said it was a bamboo begonia. My search on Dave's led me to add "Begonia coccinea 'Bubbles'" to my journal.
Cane Begonia, Angel Wing Begonia
Cultivar: Bubbles
Genus: Begonia
Species: coccinea
usaveteran, your leaves are very cool on your begonia, kind of oblong. It's not the same as the one kagst29 has.
Begonia maculata var. wrightii
http://www.botanypictures.com/plantimages/begonia%20maculata%2001%20kmbg.jpg
or possibly B. albo- picta. Both of these and B. coccinea mentioned above are similar looking. Albo-picta and maculata have white or pink flowers, but coccinea, as the name suggests, has red flowers.
Or, it could be a cultivar with one of these in its parentage.
The picture of the begonia that is supposed to be B. maculata in that link is not correct. B. maculata has very large polka dots and long leaves ending in a point. Here is one from the Miami convention 2006.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=2090291
some other images of B. maculata
http://www.logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=B3110-2
http://aoki2.si.gunma-u.ac.jp/BotanicalGarden/PICTs/Begonia-maculata.jpeg
Interesting. I took a look at what Mark Tebbitt had to say about this in his book
Begonias: Cultivation, Identification, and Natural History. Here's a quote from the book:
The species name, albo-picta, refers to the numerous small, silvery white speckles that dot this plant's upper leaf surfaces. Similar spotted leaves are also common to the very closely related Begonia maculata var. wrightii, but in that plant the leaf blades are larger and the spots are less numerous and slightly larger. Nevertheless, the two are so similar that some authors have considered them variants of the same species. Begonia maculata var. maculata is at once recognized by its large white spots that often measure about 7mm or more in width.
There is a color picture in the book with B. albo-picta and B. maculata var. wrightii side by side. The spots on the latter are somewhat larger than those on B. albo-picta, but nowhere near as large as the spots on the photos you posted. Based on Tebbitt's description I'm assuming your pictures are of B. maculata var. maculata. Just for good measure I went to the Begonia Society's images page and found a picture of Begonia maculata (no mention of variety) that looks very similar to your pictures.
http://www.begonias.org/greenhouse/imagelisting.htm
There is no direct link to the B. maculata photo, just to the images page. If you scroll about half way down you'll see it. I don't know what to say about the leaf shape. In Tebbitt's picture the leaves of B. maculata var. wrightii are mixed; some are sharply pointed, some are bluntly pointed like usaveteran's photo.
usaveteran, does that help you at all?
Wow, Tebbit's picture of maculata var. 'Wightii' sure looks different than Logee's and others I've seen (and bought).
Maybe it's in the spelling? He has it has 'Wrightii' while most others have it as 'Wightii'. What is the correct spelling?
Anyway there are so many hybrids that look alike that it's hard to tell them apart at times. Enjoy it for its beauty and name it after the person or nursery you got it from. I've read some comments from some growers (and hybridizers) that say if you don't have a name tag then destroy it or at least enjoy it and don't share it with anyone else. I don't agree with that sentiment since even some experts can't put a name on a fairly unique plant and these are plants purchased at some big name nurseries (Ades & Gish, PHOE, GHW for example).
http://books.google.com/books?id=TFWbRbHSowAC&pg=PA78&lpg=PA78&dq=tebbitt+maculata&source=bl&ots=ST68IL69JE&sig=vF9031qRTMTnuLHRjuGxN-eNQDQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA119,M1
http://www.logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=B3110-2
additonal images including one on DG
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/96442/
http://www.taylorgreenhouses.com/bemavawi.html
http://www.botanicalgardening.com/favorite.html
http://www.imagebotanica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=stock.detail&itemID=2829
http://www.imagebotanica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=stock.detail&itemID=2830
http://www.dibleys.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Cane_Stemmed_Begonias__28.html
Ha, I just noticed the difference in spelling, now that you pointed it out. ABS uses "wightii", so does that make it THE correct spelling? I'll let the botanists and the ABS folks work that one out. I think the issue of leaf variation within a species an interesting one. Take a look at plate 24 in Tebbitt's book. Now look at the text description of B. amphioxus. As he says, amphioxus means sharp at both ends, but the photo isn't like that at all! It just goes to show that using leaves to make an identification can be very misleading. Like you said, there are so many begonia hybrids, you have to trust your source didn't make a mistake when they tagged your plant. I would never destroy a plant just because I didn't have a positive ID for it, although I can see why this makes sense for a commercial grower. As a begonia hobbyist I think it is useful to be able to narrow it down to a couple of species or hybrid possibilities because then you have a chance of determining what conditions your plant needs for optimal growth.
I agree on variation. Sun and growing conditions can make a huge difference.
I have a very small amphioxus and it definitely is sharp on both ends with large red polka dots although the leaf is not big at all. I will look up the picture in Tebbitt's book later.
I also don't believe in destroying a plant because of no name and I will give it to anyone who wants it but I won't give them a name unless I am sure of it.
Commercial growers are often the problem with names - they can be totally wrong or give you none at all. Even begonia judges aren't sure on plant names (unless it is very unique) but they usually can give you 2 or 3 names to help narrow it down.
There are purists out there that refuse to buy a begonia (or plant) that isn't properly labeled. I agree with one commercial grower on his view of why people buy a plant - they don't buy a plant for the name, they buy it for the plant. Names are nice but they aren't all that necessary except in conversation. If the purist passes up a beautiful plant because of a name then the next person who comes along will usually pick it up and the purist is out of luck if he returns.
I worked in a nursery for a while and believe me it is all to easy to stick the wrong tags in a flat of plants. Sometimes the error is obvious and gets corrected by a sharp-eyed employee, but more often the error is subtle and the plant goes out to the public with the wrong name. Not a big deal for most folks, but for the few who care about these details they could end up unwittingly perpetuating the wrong name. I imagine there's a story like that behind the "wightii" vs. "wrightii" situation.
You are so right on perpetuating errors. Look at B. 'Lois Burks', 'Magdalene Madsen', and 'Corallina de Lucerna'. You will see several different spellings bandied around the web to where no one knows what the original spelling was or who it was named after, etc. For example I've seen Louis, Louise, Burk, Burke, Burkes, Magdalena, Madeline, Mansen, and Lucerne. I've thought about calling 'Magdalene Madsen' 'Marilyn Manson' and I think a lot of folks would accept it without blinking an eye.
Another one is Janet Brown and Carmel Browne (both have begonias named after them) and I've seen the 'e' added and dropped and Carmel spelled as Caramel (like the candy). Then you have begonias named after towns (a lot of native American names I suppose) and the spelling becomes very scrambled. Then trading across the oceans and names are dropped and new ones put in place so no one know who had it first and which is correct. I think I read a short blog about B. 'Cancan' or is that 'Can Can'. I think it was created in Europe and given a long name after some Lady or Comtesse but it got shortened to Cancan here in the states. So yada, yada, yada...
The worst offender is the grower who supplies the big box stores with rex begonias and must have a million tags made with Begonia serratipetala and has decided to use the tags even if they know better. The unsuspecting buyer thinks they have what the tag says and posts pictures on the web with the name and then newbies see that picture and think they know what serratipetala looks like. Ruh-roh!
Is there any hope of getting one site that is complete or fairly complete with excellent pictures and tips to look for to help the average begonia grower ID their begonia? We can only hope.
Oh hcmc you said a mouth full I have an amaryillis that has a name but with looking at some pictures I don't think it is the right name for it but whats in a name if you just want the plant for it's beauty?
Amen!
LOL Begonia 'Marilyn Manson.' That would be cruel to the begonia.
According to the ABS website, one of their purposes is to "standardize the nomenclature of begonias." If anyone has a burning desire to get their begonia's name right, the ABS should be the ones to ask. They have a pretty good collection of photos, but a lot of them are not detailed enough to use for ID purposes. That's why I like Tebbitt's book. He really gets into the precise details of each species, although I can't use it without a glossary of botanical terms by my side. He only mentions a few cultivars, though. I'm going to send the ABS an email about wrightii vs. wightii, just out of curiosity. I'll post their reply when I get it. I don't know who else would be on top of such details. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden supposedly has a pretty good collection of begonias. If I remember right Tebbitt is associated with them.
I remember Tebbitt doing a seminar at the Miami convention. Very young looking - I wonder how a guy from NYC became one of the leading figures on begonias. Our local chapter has Dr. Rekha Morris as one of our members, not that she can attend every meeting because she goes to India and Mexico at least once a year looking for new and old species to bring back to the ABS. One day I hope to visit her set up in S.C. (not sure if she has it at Clemson or at her home). I was impressed with Byron Martin from Logee's who gave a seminar on tissue culture and Antoon Hoefnagel's presentation on growing over a half-million begonias a year in Kenya (I hope I have that right). Talk about getting propagation to 100% success rate - Antoon knows any loss is money down the tubes.
You are so lucky to have an opportunity to hear someone like Dr. Morris on a regular basis. Logee's is only about two hours away from my home, but I haven't been there yet. I really must go some day. I have been to Lauray of Salisbury to see Judy Becker. I was very sad to learn that her place is on the market. I drove up in September to get some plants and the sign was up. I hope she finds a buyer who is interested in continuing the business. No reply from ABS yet, but that's ok. I'm in no hurry.
Is Judy out of business?
No, she is not out of business, but he place was for sale. In this economy it will take a while for the right buyer to come along. I didn't want to be nosy, so I didn't ask many questions.