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Begoniaceae FAMILY

Begonia picta

Begonia picta

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Begonia picta is found mainly in the Himalayas at elevations up to 2,900 metres, though some reports say that plants are sometimes found at much higher elevations[1]. It is not very hardy in most of the temperate zone, though can be grown outdoors in mild winter areas, whilst provenances obtained from higher elevations could be hardier. Requires a well-drained soil[2]. Plants do not require high light intensities[2]. Prefers a pH between 6 and 7[2].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse and keep the compost moist in a light position. The seed can be very slow to germinate, sometimes taking a year or more[3]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division Basal cuttings from tubers in spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Begonia+picta>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flowers of the Himalayas. — Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. · Oxford Universtiy Press · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  4. [4]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  5. [5]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  6. [6]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  8. [8]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.