# Begonia Collection



## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Here's a few photos of some of my favorite Begonia species I have. All of these are highly tropical species. 

Begonia Baramensis










Begonia sp "Green"
I suspect that this is the same species as Begonia Ferox but just a color variant. 










Begonia Lichenora










Begonia Muara Wahau










Begonia Bengohensis










Begonia Daunhitam
Fun fact about this species is that Daun Hitam means "Black Leaved". In the wild this holds true although in captivity the name "Blue Leaved" would be more appropriate.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

lovely!


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## Eurydactylodes (Sep 7, 2021)

Lichenora is one of my all-time favorites.


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Eurydactylodes said:


> Lichenora is one of my all-time favorites.


Yes! Lichenora is phenomenal. Personally I almost prefer it to its rarer cousin Begonia sp “Sarawak”


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Here’s some more since I was taking photos today.
Begonia Padang









Begonia Delok









Begonia Mantuk









Begonis sp Sulawesi "Black Metallic"









Begonia Amidalae
Discovered with Begonia Darthvaderiana and named after his lover in the movies. (Padme Amidala)


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## lork-the-mighty (May 11, 2021)

Awesome plants! I love the look of begonia ferox, I was wondering if the spikes could hurt the frogs. I felt them and its not that sharp at all but our frogs have pretty sensitive skin.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Neat plants. 

I'd be interested to know which of these are species, and which hybridized varieties; it is hard to tell from your captions.


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## Harpspiel (Jan 18, 2015)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Neat plants.
> 
> I'd be interested to know which of these are species, and which hybridized varieties; it is hard to tell from your captions.


Those are all species, but some are unidentified and so are going by a locale or colloquial name rather than proper species name. I believe it is difficult to accurately identify whether a Begonia is a new species or just a localized variety until it blooms.

Beautiful Begonias, @Rare Miniatures


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Harpspiel said:


> Those are all species, but some are unidentified and so are going by a locale or colloquial name rather than proper species name. I believe it is difficult to accurately identify whether a Begonia is a new species or just a localized variety until it blooms.
> 
> Beautiful Begonias, @Rare Miniatures


Yes, this is correct. Some of these are trade names also as a few are unidentified. 

And yes, it is impossible to accurately ID Begonias until they bloom. As an example, the Begonia sp Green is technically unidentified, but its growth is nearly identical to Begonia Ferox hence why I believe it is a variety even though I have no proof (yet).


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Neat plants.
> 
> I'd be interested to know which of these are species, and which hybridized varieties; it is hard to tell from your captions.


Yes, that's my bad. Generally you'd put quotation marks around unofficial trade names/names based on locale or hybrid names however for some of these their trade names are unique enough (Such as Padang and Mantuk) that people tend not to. To answer your question all of these are unique, individual species with the exception of Begonia sp "Green" which like I said, may be a color form of an already existing species. However this theory is still unproven as it hasn't bloomed for me.


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## Imatreewaterme (May 19, 2021)

What is the secret for growing begonias? I bought a small kit kat begonia and put it into a tub, but it died off.

Ricky


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## Eurydactylodes (Sep 7, 2021)

Imatreewaterme said:


> What is the secret for growing begonias? I bought a small kit kat begonia and put it into a tub, but it died off.
> 
> Ricky


There are over 2,000 species of begonia, coming from diverse conditions. There are begonias that grow lithophytically on limestone cliffs, and therefore need an alkaline and well-draining substrate. There are others that grow terrestrially in dry soil. There are others still that grow in moist or wet substrate and high humidity. Most begonias propagate easily from stem cuttings and leaf cuttings. I would do research into the specific species that you are growing. 
From what I understand, Begonia “Kit Kat” is a hybrid.


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Imatreewaterme said:


> What is the secret for growing begonias? I bought a small kit kat begonia and put it into a tub, but it died off.
> 
> Ricky





Eurydactylodes said:


> There are over 2,000 species of begonia, coming from diverse conditions. There are begonias that grow lithophytically on limestone cliffs, and therefore need an alkaline and well-draining substrate. There are others that grow terrestrially in dry soil. There are others still that grow in moist or wet substrate and high humidity. Most begonias propagate easily from stem cuttings and leaf cuttings. I would do research into the specific species that you are growing.
> From what I understand, Begonia “Kit Kat” is a hybrid.


I second what @Eurydactylodes said. It’s be extremely difficult to answer this question without knowing the exact conditions of your bin. Just research the care for your species and do your best to mimic the conditions they prefer. If I had to guess I’d say maybe check on the substrate you had the Kit Kat in since people tend to forget that in humid conditions substrate will compact and suffocate your plants roots, but this is only a guess since I don’t know how you were keeping it.
But I’d also say to keep trying! Practice is the best way to learn how to care for more finicky genus of plants.


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## Imatreewaterme (May 19, 2021)

Rare Miniatures said:


> I second what @Eurydactylodes said. It’s be extremely difficult to answer this question without knowing the exact conditions of your bin. Just research the care for your species and do your best to mimic the conditions they prefer. If I had to guess I’d say maybe check on the substrate you had the Kit Kat in since people tend to forget that in humid conditions substrate will compact and suffocate your plants roots, but this is only a guess since I don’t know how you were keeping it.
> But I’d also say to keep trying! Practice is the best way to learn how to care for more finicky genus of plants.


Thanks for that reply. I tried to make the soil quick draining with a lot of bark/perlite some coco coir and sand. They are beautiful plants I just have to get some of them going in my next build.

Where do you purchase your begonias? 

Ricky


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Imatreewaterme said:


> Thanks for that reply. I tried to make the soil quick draining with a lot of bark/perlite some coco coir and sand. They are beautiful plants I just have to get some of them going in my next build.
> 
> Where do you purchase your begonias?
> 
> Ricky


I keep highly tropical begonia species that you won’t find at a standard garden store. Many of what I keep I source from other keepers in my network of plant friends. Unfortunately I can’t just give out peoples names and information but a few stores I like are Glass box tropicals, frogdaddy, in search of small things, and I also sometimes browse Etsy and eBay.
Hope this helps


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## Imatreewaterme (May 19, 2021)

Rare Miniatures said:


> I keep highly tropical begonia species that you won’t find at a standard garden store. Many of what I keep I source from other keepers in my network of plant friends. Unfortunately I can’t just give out peoples names and information but a few stores I like are Glass box tropicals, frogdaddy, in search of small things, and I also sometimes browse Etsy and eBay.
> Hope this helps


Thanks, I want to add some of these plants to my collection. They seem rather delicate, does this make them only work for smaller frog species? I'd imagine Tincs might destroy the foliage.

Ricky


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Imatreewaterme said:


> Thanks, I want to add some of these plants to my collection. They seem rather delicate, does this make them only work for smaller frog species? I'd imagine Tincs might destroy the foliage.
> 
> Ricky


Personally I don’t actually keep frogs so I can’t say. Many of these are extremely delicate so I’m not sure how well they’d hold up. Also, many of them have very specific soil requirements so you’d have to somehow incorporate that into your vivarium. It could be possible, but I wouldn’t know.


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Here's some others - 
Begonia sp Temuyuk









Begonia Versicolor









Begonia sp Hairy with Spots 









Begonia Bullatifolia


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## fredk (Oct 25, 2021)

Rare Miniatures said:


> Here's some others -
> 
> ...
> Begonia sp Hairy with Spots
> View attachment 303651


I always thought these begonias with vibrant coloured spots were man made.


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

fredk said:


> I always thought these begonias with vibrant coloured spots were man made.


Not necessarily true. Of course some are man made, but spots are quite a common pattern for Begonia. The sp Hairy with spots is an unidentified species out of Malaysia.


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Some more-
Begonia Mildbraedi

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Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content









Begonia Promethea (aka Beccarii)








Begonia Blancii Dark and Mottled forms








Begonia Luzhaiensis








Begonia Burkilli “Dark”








Begonia sp Irian Jaya


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## Rare Miniatures (Jan 9, 2021)

Here’s some other photos-
Begonia Bengohensis








Begonia sp Sarawak (Reports indicate this might be true B. Lichenora but it hasn’t been confirmed)








Begonia aff Baramensis








Begonia sp Konmei China








Begonia sp Sulawesi Black Metallic








Begonia kapuashuluensis (formerly known as Begonia sp Temuyuk)


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