Begonia masoniana 'Variegata'

Begonia masoniana 'Variegata' is a cultivated selection derived from Begonia masoniana Irmsch., the 'Iron Cross Begonia' (a rhizomatous species associated with the humid forest habitats of southern China and northern Vietnam), grown in warm, shaded, humid conditions that replicate its native understory environment. The base species already has large, heavily bullate and hairy leaves bearing a prominent dark iron-cross marking at the centre of each blade. In the 'Variegata' form, irregular creamy-white variegation is added to this iron-cross pattern across the deep green to olive lamina, producing leaves with an additional layer of pattern. The creeping rhizome habit remains unchanged.

Native range

Cultivated selection (derived from Begonia masoniana, native to southern China and northern Vietnam)

Classification

Genus

Begonia

Family

Begoniaceae

Type

Variegated

Growth habit

Rhizomatous, creeping

Form of

Begonia masoniana

Morphology

Leaf shape

Large, broadly cordateHeart-shaped foliage, featuring a rounded notch (sinus) where the leaf stem attaches., asymmetrical, heavily bullate

Leaf length

12-25 cm

Leaf width

10-20 cm

Petiole colour

Hairy, greenish-reddish

Venation

Iron-cross pattern centrally, palmate

Texture

Heavily bullate, hairy, crisp texture

Variegation

Dark iron-cross marking plus irregular creamy-white variegation on green-olive lamina

Growth habit

Creeping rhizome at or just above substrate surface