Begonia maculata 'Flamingo Queen'

Begonia maculata 'Flamingo Queen' is a vigorous, large-growing cane begonia cultivar named for its bright pink flowers rather than any leaf variegation. Its main visual distinction from the plain species is a thin silver picotee edge tracing each leaf margin, with the usual mixed-size polka-dot spotting across an otherwise larger blade. Left unstaked it forms a big, arching bush; staked, it can be trained to around four feet. It is not a chimeric sport, so it propagates true from cuttings, but stock remains limited to collector circles rather than general retail.

Native range

Cultivated selection (derived from Begonia maculata, native to southeastern Brazil, Atlantic Forest)

Classification

Genus

Begonia

Family

Begoniaceae

Type

Cultivar

Growth habit

Upright cane, bamboo-like, arching with size

Form of

Begonia maculata

Morphology

Leaf shape

Asymmetrical, angel-wing / oblique-ovateEgg-shaped leaves, with the wider end near the base. with pointed tip, larger than the plain species

Leaf length

15-28 cm

Leaf width

6-11 cm

Petiole colour

Short, reddish

Venation

Visible beneath the spotting pattern

Texture

Thin to semi-glossy, deep red undersides

Variegation

N/A; not variegated. A thin silver picotee edge traces each leaf margin, over the species' usual polka-dot spotting on a larger blade. A stableVariegation that is genetically locked, meaning new leaves will reliably display the variegation pattern., true-breeding named cultivar rather than a chimericVariegation caused by a cell mutation. Often produces high contrast but can be unstable and revert to all-green. sport, so the picotee edge and larger growth reproduce reliably from any cutting

Growth habit

Upright segmented bamboo-like canes, larger and more arching than the plain species