Begonia dregei

Begonia dregei is the odd one out in this collection for a simple reason: it's South African, not tropical, and it builds a caudex. Described by Otto and Dietrich from rocky slopes and forest margins in eastern South Africa, it's the only commonly cultivated South African Begonia to develop this swollen, tuberous base, which thickens gradually over years into a genuinely bonsai-like form — enough to draw succulent and caudex collectors who'd otherwise never look twice at a begonia. Slender reddish stems branch from the caudex in a naturally shrubby habit, carrying small, asymmetrical, rounded leaves with crenate margins. It grows in seasonally moist habitat with bright filtered light over well-drained, humus-rich substrate among leaf litter and stones.

Native range

South Africa (rocky slopes and forest margins, eastern South Africa)

Classification

Genus

Begonia

Family

Begoniaceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Caudiform, multibranched shrubby

Morphology

Leaf shape

Small, asymmetrical, rounded to ovateEgg-shaped leaves, with the wider end near the base. with shallow lobing and crenate margins

Leaf length

3-8 cm

Leaf width

3-7 cm

Petiole colour

Reddish

Venation

Visible palmate venation on small blades

Texture

Thin to semi-coriaceous

Variegation

None

Growth habit

Swollen caudex base, slender multibranched stems above