''Begonia cucullata'', also known as wax begonia and clubed begonia,"''Begonia cucullata'' Willd."
The PLANTS Database. Natural Resources Conservation Service. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 25 April 2022. is a species of the

Begoniaceae Begoniaceae is a family of flowering plants with two genera and about 2040 species occurring in the subtropics and tropics of both the New World and Old World. All but one of the species are in the genus ''Begonia''. There have been many recent d ...

that is native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

n countries of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. A common garden plant and part of the section ''

Begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ind ...

'', it was described in 1805 by

Carl Ludwig Willdenow Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was al ...

(1765–1812). The specific epithet "cucullata" means "resembling a hood" or "hooded".

Description

The plant is an upright growing, herbaceous

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

that has almost symmetrical succulent pale green to pale reddish brown leaves that are ovate,

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

4–8 cm long and 6 cm wide, with edged, glossy and toothed

crenation Crenation (from modern Latin ''crenatus'' meaning "scalloped or notched", from popular Latin ''crena'' meaning "notch") in botany and zoology, describes an object's shape, especially a leaf or shell, as being round-toothed or having a scalloped ed ...

.''database, NODC Taxonomic Code'', 1996 Grown as a groundcover, the flowers of the plant are red, pink or white that bloom in the summer or year-round in warmer places, and the fruits have three wings.

Range

Native to South America, wax begonia is also found growing invasively in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, namely from the northern and central peninsula west to central panhandle, and also in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The plant may invade waysides, deforested areas, overgrazed pastureland, and wastelands.''Begoniaceae of North America Update'' Because they are such prolific seed producers, seeds are thought to be the primary way begonias spread when left unchecked. They can also root very easily, but this may not play much of a role under natural conditions.

Cultivation

Older varieties prefer shade, though newer varieties tolerate both full sun and shade. Indoors, they can thrive in a south- or east-facing window, provided they are acclimated when their environment is changed.

Varieties

The wax begonia marketed commercially as ''Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum'' is a hybrid of at least five species, including ''B. cucullata''. The name ''wax begonia'' refers to the thick and waxy leaves of the group. According to

Catalog of Life The Catalogue of Life is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxonomic Inf ...

(February 6, 2017) 6 and Kew Garden World Checklist, these varieties exist: Begonia cucullata Willd.
/ref> * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''cucullata'' * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''hookeri'' (A.DC.) LBSm. & BGSchub. (1941) * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''spatulata'' (G.Lodd. ex Haw.) Golding (1982) * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''subcucullata'' (C.DC.) According to

Tropicos Tropicos is an online botanical database containing taxonomic information on plants, mainly from the Neotropical realm (Central, and South America). It is maintained by the Missouri Botanical Garden and was established over 25 years ago. The data ...

(February 6, 2017):''database, The PLANTS Database'', 1996 * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''arenosicola'' (C. DC.) LB Sm. & BG Schub. * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''cucullata'' * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''hookeri'' LB Sm. & BG Schub. * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''sellowii'' A. DC. * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''spatulata'' (Lodd.) Golding * ''Begonia cucullata'' var. ''subcucullata'' (C. DC.) ined.

Gallery

File:Begonia_cucullata_var._hookeri.jpg, Botanical illustration File:Gardenology.org-IMG_1132_rbgs10dec.jpg, In natural habitat File:Begonia_cucullata_(17996084090).jpg, In the wild File:Gardenology.org-IMG_1133_rbgs10dec.jpg, At a botanical garden

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6395156 cucullata Flora of Argentina Garden plants Ornamental plants Flora of Brazil Flora of Uruguay Flora of Paraguay Plants described in 1805