Begonia hirtella
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Hirtella begonia, Brazilian begonia
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Summary
Source: WikipediaBegonia hirtella, the bearded begonia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Begoniaceae. It is native to Jamaica, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and southern Brazil, and has been introduced to many tropical locales around the world. People apply its juices to their skin to treat itchiness from insect bites.
Description
A herb. It grows 90 cm tall. It has soft succulent stems. The leaves are oval and oblique. They are 3-10 cm long by 2-8 cm wide. They have shallow lobes along the edge. There are blunt teeth along the edge. They are dark green above and paler green underneath. The leaf stalks are pale pink and 9 cm long. The flowers are in groups and are white with red tinges. The fruit are oval and 1.5 cm across.
Edible Uses
The leaves and flowers are edible.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in rainforests and near creeks. It grows up to 1,800 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Central Africa, Gabon, Hawaii, Indonesia, Pacific, SE Asia, South America*, West Indies,
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from seeds or stem or leaf cuttings.
Notes
There are 900-1,000-1,500 Begonia species.
Also Known As
Begonia hirtella
References (10)
- Bircher, A. G. & Bircher, W. H., 2000, Encyclopedia of Fruit Trees and Edible Flowering Plants in Egypt and the Subtropics. AUC Press. p 56
- Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 316
- Enum. hort. berol. alt. 2:396. 1822
- Heyne, K., 1927 ed. Nutt. Plant. Ned. Ind. p 1147
- Kinupp, V. F., 2007, Plantas alimenticias nao-convencionais da regiao metropolitana de Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil p 69
Show all 10 references Hide references
- Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 178
- Okigbo, B.N., Vegetables in Tropical Africa, in Opena, R.T. & Kyomo, M.L., 1990, Vegetable Research and development in SADCC countries. Asian Vegetable Research and development Centre. Taiwan. p 38
- Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 1075
- Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 29
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
