Description:

• Monoecious herbs or undershrubs, mostly fleshy, generally erect, sometimes creeping or climbing by means of adventitious roots, or acaulescent with a rhizome or tuber
• Leaves alternate, rarely subradical, petiolate, generally asymmetrical, digitately nerved, margins entire, toothed, lobed or dissected; stipules 2, conspicuous, persistent or caducous
• Inflorescences axillary, cymose, bracteate
• Flowers regular or irregular, unisexual, showy
• Male flowers: tepals usually 2 or 4, rarely many or 0, petaloid; stamens many, filaments free or connate; anthers 2-thecous, dehiscing laterally; ovary rudimentary or 0
• Female flowers: tepals 5 or 6, sometimes 4, petaloid; staminodes 0 or rarely represented by glands; ovary inferior or rarely half-inferior, usually 3-, rarely 2- or 5-locular, usually 3-winged or angled; ovules many on projecting, simple or lobed axile placentas; styles (2)3(-5), free or connate at base, 2-fid, stigmas entire or branched, often twisted, papillose
• Fruit usually a capsule, 3-winged or 3-angled, rarely terete or 4-angled
• Seeds many, minute; testa reticulate; endosperm 0; embryo straight
• x = 14 (11, 12, 13, 15, 19) (high polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Begonia L.
  • Linnaeus: 1056 (1753)
  • Linnaeus: 475 (1754)
  • Sonder: 480 (1862)
  • Candolle: 266 (1864)
  • Hilliard: 136 (1976)
  • De Lange & Bouman: 1 (1992)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 900 species described, mainly tropical America and Asia
• Southern Africa: Species 6 or perhaps only 5 native