Discussion

Begonia

Begonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants comprised of over 2000 species and thousands more cultivated hybrids. It is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Tropical and subtropical Africa is believed to have been the origin of the genera millions of years ago, but today, various species grow naturally in Asia. Central America, and South America, too. The angel wing begonia is an example. It is a hybrid of two begonia species that originally came from South America, one of which is Begonia coccinea. Some of those spots on the leaves in the photo are water droplets, but others are part of the leaves' natural appearance.

There is a considerable amount of variation among begonia species. Here is a Begonia geminiflora from Ecuador. 

This Begonia veitchii (Veitch's Begonia) is native to Peru and Bolivia.

Tuberous Begonia is another begonia species that originally came from Peru and Bolivia. Its doubled blossoms give it a particularly distinctive appearance.

Begonia and begonia hybrid blossoms come in all sorts of colors except blue. None have blue blossoms.

One of the characteristics shared by all begonia species is that they are monoecious; i.e., all have some blossoms that are male and some blossoms that are female on the same plant. That means that begonia plants can self-pollinate, though insects and wind are also frequent natural pollinators. The photos below show the gender differences in appearance of some begonia species, though I'm not sure which ones or even if they are from the same species.

Look back at the photo of Begonia geminiflora. The two flowers shown are also male and female. Can you tell which is which.

The majority of begonia blossoms have four tepals; i.e., sepals from the calyx and blossom petals have the same color, making it hard to tell them apart. In the case of begonias, the sepals are usually larger than the petals. They are also slightly behind the petals. If you count the number of tepals on the female blossom above, however, you can see that there are five. Four tepals on a blossom, though usually the case, is not an absolute rule. Females are more likely to have five tepals, but males almost always have four. The species makes a difference as well as gender. There can be as few as two tepals, but there can also be more than five.

When pollination is successful, a seed pod forms from the female blossom's ovary. The pods of most begonia species are winged to assist dispersal by wind. There are from many hundreds to thousands of dust-like seeds per pod depending on the begonia species.

Another characteristic common to begonia species is asymmetric leaves. One side is typically larger than the other. The difference is slight enough in this Begonia ulmifolia that you have to look closely to see it.

In many other species, as with this Begonia dregei, the difference is easily visible. Note that this species has only two tepals on its blossoms.

The leaves on this Begonia beryllae leave no doubt about its asymmetry.

As was said above, there is a considerable amount of variety among begonia species.

The asymmetry of the leaves in this Begonia Escargot is extreme and different. 

Begonia Grandis

My painting subject this week is a begonia species that I haven't mentioned yet, though it is one of the most popular among people who plant begonias in their gardens or use them as house plants; Begonia grandis, commonly known as hardy begonia.

These blossoms are pink. The branching stems from which the flowers grow are pink, too. Those blossom-bearing stems grow out of nodes on the plants' main stems where leaves meet the stems. Note the slightly asymmetric leaves. Here is another, closer look.

Note that there are many unopened buds.

As with most other begonia species, the male blossoms almost always have two pair of tepals; two sepals and two petals. That is the case when female blossoms have four tepals, too. However, the female Begonia grandis blossoms frequently have a varying number of tepals from three to five. When there are three, two are sepals and one is a petal. When they have five, three are sepals and two are petals.

Some varieties of Begonia grandis blossoms are white.

Though the topside of Begonia grandis leaves are green, the underside is red.

Begonia grandis leaves die in the winter, but the plant grows new ones in the spring from its tuberous roots.

You can see part of the red undersides of some of the leaves in the photo above.

The plants bloom from midsummer (around July) through the time of the first frost, typically October. During that time, they can provide considerable interest to gardens.

Artwork

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

Hiroshige was one of Japan's greatest ukiyo-e masters. Though now best known for his landscapes, he was also a prolific kachō-ga (pictures of birds and flowers) artist. The print below, produced sometimes in the 1830s, is titled Dragonfly and Begonia.

Nakayama Sūgakudō

Few biographical details of Nakayama's life are known including his birth and death dates. He worked primarily as an ukiyo-e artist in the 1850s and 1860s, specializing in ukiyo-e kachō-ga  He is thought to have been a follower of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) who rose to fame around the same period of time. The print below, Bluebird and Begonia produced in 1859, is number 27 from his series, Forty-eight Hawks Drawn from Life (Shô utsushi yonjû-hachi taka).

Ohara Koson (1877 – 1945)

Koson was a major figure in the early 20th century shin-hanga (new prints) movement to restore traditional Japanese subjects, values, and techniques to Japanese print artwork. He is primarily known for kachō-ga. The work below, Two Birds Fly Over Begonias in the Rain, was produced some time in the 1920s.

Tanigami Kōnan (1879 – 1928)

Tanigami was a painter and textile designer active in Osaka. He is known primarily for two woodblock print books of flower studies; the first book was published 1917 and the second book over the course of the 1920s. The print below, simply titled Begonia, is probably from the first book.