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Begonia veitchii

Begonia veitchii
Photo: Joseph Dalton Hooker, Public domain

Begonia veitchii is a tuberous begonia from the high Andes of Peru, prized for its large vivid red-orange flowers. It is a parent of the modern Begonia × tuberhybrida cultivars and needs cool, bright, humid conditions with a dormant rest period.

Family
Begoniaceae (Begonia family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Water moderately while growing, keep the soil barely moist, and reduce water sharply once the foliage yellows.
Soil
Light, loose, well-drained peat-based or humus-rich mix.
Temperature
12–22 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Hard
Safety
Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
Peru to NW. Argentina
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Begonia veitchii is a plant in the begonia family, Begoniaceae, which was introduced to Europe in 1866 by Richard Pearce who discovered it in the Peruvian Andes near Cusco at an elevation of from 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and 12,000 feet (3,700 m). It was named after Pearce's employers, James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea, London. It can be found today in the mountains around Machu Picchu. A later plant collector, Walter Davis, found Begonia veitchii inhabiting rocky positions by waterfalls, in company with Masdevallia veitchiana.

Begonia veitchii played an important role in the development of today's popular hybrid cultivars and, together with Pearce's other introductions, B. boliviensis and B. pearcei, was subsequently hybridized to produce the Begonia × tuberhybrida cultivar group.

Other Begonia plants

Begonia acutifolia · Begonia annulata · Begonia bogneri · Bolivian Begonia · Eyelash Begonia · Begonia carolineifolia · Begonia conchifolia · Clubed begonia · Begonia davisii · Grape Leaf Begonia · Begonia echinosepala · Fuchsia begonia

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Begonia veitchii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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