45 Types of Begonia (Different Varieties Explained, With Pictures)

Begonia is not a small club. It is one of the largest flowering plant families on Earth, with more than 2,000 recognized species and thousands of additional hybrids, according to horticultural researchers. Add named cultivars, and the total climbs into the tens of thousands.

This guide breaks down 45 types of begonia worth knowing, whether you garden outdoors, grow houseplants, or just want to understand what you are looking at on a nursery shelf. Each one has its own root structure, leaf character, and ideal spot in the home or garden.

Let’s get into it.

Why Begonias Split Into So Many Groups

Before listing individual types, it helps to understand the three broad structural groups botanists use to sort begonias. Nearly every variety on this list fits into one of them.

Fibrous-rooted begonias have thin, thread-like roots. This group includes wax begonias, cane types, and shrub-like forms, and it tends to drain quickly and forgive a missed watering.

Rhizomatous begonias grow from a thickened, creeping stem called a rhizome that runs along the soil surface. Rex begonias belong here, prized almost entirely for foliage rather than flowers.

Tuberous-rooted begonias grow from an underground tuber, similar in structure to a potato, and are usually grown for their large, showy blooms rather than leaf pattern.

Origin matters too. Tuberous types trace back to cool Andean cloud forests, which is why they struggle in humid summer heat, while many rhizomatous and cane types come from tropical Asian and South American forest floors and prefer warmth and shade.

Now let’s walk through the varieties themselves, grouped so the list stays easy to follow.

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Group 1: Wax Begonias (Semperflorens Types)

Wax begonias are the begonias most people meet first. They line garden borders and window boxes across the world, and they rarely get the credit they deserve for how reliably they perform.

1. Wax Begonia (Begonia Semperflorens)

The classic bedding wax begonia has thick, glossy, waxy-looking leaves and a nonstop flush of small flowers in red, pink, or white. It thrives in both sun and shade.

Its name, Semperflorens, means “ever blooming” in Latin, and the plant genuinely lives up to it. A single bed can flower continuously from spring frost until fall frost without a noticeable pause.

Leaf color also signals sun tolerance. Green-leaved forms prefer some afternoon shade, while bronze-leaved forms handle full sun comfortably thanks to their higher anthocyanin content.

2. BIG® Series

The BIG series was bred for scale, with plants reaching up to 36 inches tall in a single season, far larger than traditional wax types.

Its bold size makes it useful as a filler in large landscape beds where a typical 8-inch wax begonia would simply disappear.

Because the plants grow so large so quickly, they benefit from wider spacing than standard wax begonias, usually 12 to 15 inches apart, to avoid overcrowding by midsummer.

3. Prelude Series

Prelude begonias keep a compact growth habit paired with bright green foliage, making them a popular choice for uniform, tidy bedding displays.

Growers often choose this series specifically for mass plantings, since its predictable size keeps the bed looking even and well-groomed all season.

Its dependable, uniform growth also makes it a common choice for municipal and commercial landscaping, where consistency across hundreds of plants matters more than individual flair.

4. Pizzazz White Begonia

This cultivar grows 8 to 10 inches tall with crisp white blooms that stand out sharply against dark green foliage.

Its clean, bright color makes it a favorite for moon gardens and evening spaces, where pale flowers catch what little light remains after sunset.

The dark green foliage also holds its color well through summer heat, which keeps the contrast between leaf and flower sharp rather than washed out.

5. Senator Red Begonia

Senator Red pairs deep red flowers with bronze foliage, and it is notably more sun-tolerant than green-leaved wax types.

That extra sun tolerance comes down to anthocyanin, the pigment responsible for the bronze leaf color, which acts as a natural shield against excess ultraviolet light.

This makes Senator Red one of the few wax begonias reliable enough for a full-sun front border, a spot where green-leaved cultivars would typically scorch by midsummer.

6. Cocktail Series

The Cocktail series is another bronze-leaved wax type, bred for compact size and strong performance in hot, sunny beds.

Because bronze foliage handles heat and light so well, this series is frequently recommended for gardeners in the warmer parts of the United States.

Its compact, tidy shape also suits smaller containers, so it works nearly as well on a sunny balcony as it does in a full garden bed.

Group 2: Cane and Angel Wing Begonias

Cane begonias grow upright stems with thickened, bamboo-like nodes. Many gardeners consider them the easiest begonia group to keep alive indoors.

7. Angel Wing Begonia (Begonia coccinea)

The original angel wing begonia has plain dark green, wing-shaped leaves and hanging clusters of scarlet-red flowers. It can grow into a substantial plant several feet tall.

It lacks the fancy spotting of hybrid descendants, but it flowers heavily from spring through summer and tends to forgive more care mistakes than its more delicate offspring.

Understanding this parent species also makes the hundreds of hybrid cane cultivars easier to read, since nearly all of them inherit its basic leaf shape and cane-like stem structure.

8. Dragon Wing Red Begonia

Dragon Wing Red produces dark green, angel-wing-shaped leaves with clusters of scarlet-red flowers, and it reblooms constantly.

It reliably flowers nonstop because it is sterile and never diverts energy into producing seed, which channels all its growth into leaves and blooms instead.

It also grows well in either full sun or partial shade, which is unusual for a cane type and part of why it has become a staple in patio containers nationwide.

9. BabyWing Series

BabyWing is a more compact take on Dragon Wing, staying around 12 to 15 inches tall instead of stretching several feet.

Its smaller footprint suits container gardening and smaller flower beds where the standard Dragon Wing would quickly outgrow the space.

It keeps the same glossy leaf shine and heavy flower production as its larger relative, simply scaled down to fit a tighter planting plan.

10. Lucerna (Corallina de Lucerna)

Lucerna is one of the oldest named cane hybrids still grown today, a cross prized for its silver-spotted, olive-green leaves and pink summer blooms.

Left to grow for several years in a bright conservatory, it can reach four to five feet tall, making it better suited to a floor position than a windowsill.

Its long cultivation history also means it has proven itself over generations, which is reassuring for anyone hesitant to invest time in a newer, less-tested hybrid.

11. Cracklin’ Rosie Begonia

This hybrid has dark bronze leaves dotted with pink spots and a red underside, topped with clusters of rosy red blooms.

The contrast between the spotted bronze top and the deep red leaf underside gives it visual interest even before it flowers.

Placing it where afternoon light passes through the leaves from behind highlights that red underside, turning an ordinary shelf plant into a small showpiece.

12. Gryphon Begonia

Gryphon is grown almost entirely for foliage, with glossy, palmate green leaves splashed with silver and an orangish-red underside.

Its mounding, upright habit and large leaf size make it look almost architectural, which is why it often appears as a solo container specimen rather than mixed with other plants.

Unlike many cane types, Gryphon rarely produces significant flowers, so its entire appeal rests on the bold structure and silver-splashed pattern of the leaves themselves.

13. Lana Begonia

Lana has dark green leaves splashed with silver and produces rose-red flowers on established plants.

It sits comfortably between the plain species types and the heavily patterned rex-style cultivars, offering pattern without demanding rex-level humidity.

That balance makes it a practical starting point for gardeners curious about patterned foliage but not yet ready to commit to the fussier care rex begonias often require.

14. Looking Glass Begonia

Looking Glass stands out with large, silvery leaves marked by olive-green veins and a cranberry-red underside, paired with pink flowers.

Its upright form and reflective leaf surface make it a striking accent plant, especially when backlit by a window during the day.

The silvery sheen also tends to intensify with brighter indirect light, so placement near an east- or west-facing window usually brings out its color most effectively.

15. Polka Dot Begonia (Begonia maculata)

Polka Dot begonia has become one of the most sought-after houseplants of recent years, thanks to its silvery-white spotted leaves set against dark olive green.

The undersides of its leaves are a deep wine-red, a detail many photographs miss, which makes the plant especially dramatic when light passes through the foliage.

Native to Brazilian forests, it prefers bright indirect light and humidity around 50 percent or higher, and it responds well to the water-when-the-top-inch-dries approach used for most cane types.

16. Castaway Begonia

Castaway is another cane-type cultivar noted for its variegated, colorful leaves, commonly grown as a houseplant or patio accent.

Like most cane types, it prefers partial shade, high humidity, and consistently moist, well-drained soil to keep its foliage looking its best.

Its variegation tends to be most vivid on newer growth, so periodic trimming of older, faded stems helps keep the whole plant looking fresh and colorful.

Group 3: Rex Begonias (Painted Leaf Types)

Rex begonias are grown almost entirely for their foliage. Botanists trace the entire group back to a single species collected in Assam in the 19th century.

17. Begonia Rex (Painted Leaf Begonia)

The original species has large, variegated leaves combining green, red, silver, and purple, and it remains the foundation of this entire hybrid group.

It was introduced into cultivation in the 1850s and quickly became a Victorian houseplant sensation, sparking more than a century of hybridizing that continues today.

Every rex cultivar on this list, however dramatic its pattern, ultimately traces its genetics back to this one wild plant collected from a subtropical forest floor.

18. Escargot Begonia

Escargot has curled green and silver leaves that spiral inward like a snail shell, which is exactly where the name comes from.

Its striking spiral pattern makes it one of the most photographed rex cultivars, though gardeners often note it can be more temperamental than plainer rex types.

Keeping humidity consistently high, rather than misting occasionally, tends to be the deciding factor between an Escargot that thrives and one that slowly declines.

19. Black Magic Begonia

Black Magic shows deep greenish-black, angel-wing-shaped leaves with raised dots and red undersides.

The nearly black leaf color makes it an effective contrast plant when grouped with silver or lime-green rex varieties in the same display.

Because dark pigments can absorb more heat from direct light, keeping this cultivar out of strong midday sun helps prevent leaf scorch on its darkest patches.

20. Curly Fireflush Begonia

This cultivar has pale yellowish-green leaves shading into burgundy, centered with a pale lilac zone.

Its layered coloring shifts noticeably depending on light exposure, often appearing brighter and more yellow-toned in stronger indirect light.

The curled leaf margins add a third layer of texture, so the plant reads differently depending on whether you view it from above or at eye level.

21. Emerald Wave Begonia

Emerald Wave features spiraling emerald green and deep plum-purple leaves, giving it strong movement and contrast in a single leaf.

Its rich purple tones deepen further as the plant matures, making older specimens noticeably more dramatic than young starts.

Gardeners who buy this cultivar as a small nursery plant are often surprised by how much richer the coloring becomes after a full growing season indoors.

22. Froggy Begonia

Froggy has olive-green leaves accented with black markings that resemble a spiderweb pattern, along with small white blooms.

The webbed pattern gives each leaf a slightly different look, so no two Froggy plants ever appear quite identical.

That natural variation is part of the appeal for collectors, since even sister plants grown from the same rhizome division can end up looking subtly distinct.

23. Joy’s Jubilee Begonia

Joy’s Jubilee shows deep green outer banding around a magenta center, with distinctly ruffled leaf edges.

The ruffling adds texture on top of color, which is part of why rex begonias photograph so well under bright, indirect light.

Its magenta center tends to stay most vivid when the plant is grown slightly cooler than average room temperature, closer to the mid-60s Fahrenheit.

24. Paso Doble Begonia

Paso Doble has spiral-patterned leaves combining green, silver, dark red, and a maroon-colored heart at the center.

Its swirling, multi-toned pattern is one of the more complex color combinations found in the rex group, closer to a painted canvas than a typical leaf.

Because the pattern is so intricate, this cultivar tends to draw attention even from across a room, making it a strong choice as a single statement plant.

25. T REX™ Painter’s Palette

This modern cultivar reaches about 16 inches tall and wide, with multicolored foliage in black, white, red, and green.

Unlike many older rex varieties, it was specifically bred for improved heat and humidity tolerance, making it more forgiving for average indoor conditions.

That practical improvement makes it a sensible first rex begonia for anyone who has struggled with the humidity demands of older heirloom cultivars.

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Group 4: Rhizomatous Begonias (Beyond Rex)

Rhizomatous begonias grow from a creeping underground stem. This group covers everything from broad, hosta-like foliage to smaller specialty hybrids.

26. Beefsteak Begonia (Begonia x ‘Erythrophylla’)

Beefsteak begonia has thick, rounded, glossy leaves and is one of the most durable rhizomatous types for both indoor and outdoor growing.

Its name comes from the deep reddish tone visible on the underside of each leaf, which shows clearly when a leaf catches the light from below.

It also tolerates lower humidity better than most rhizomatous types, which is why it has remained a common pass-along plant between generations of home gardeners.

27. Star Begonia (Begonia heracleifolia)

Star begonia gets its name from deeply lobed, star-shaped leaves that spread wide from a thick central rhizome.

Some specimens develop leaves up to three feet across, making mature plants an effective substitute for hostas in shaded garden beds.

Its thick, above-ground rhizome also stores water efficiently, giving it more drought tolerance than the delicate root systems typical of rex begonias.

28. Water Lily Begonia (Begonia nelumbifolia)

This species has large, rounded leaves that genuinely resemble a water lily pad floating just above the soil line.

Its broad, textured foliage gives it strong visual weight in a shade garden, even before it produces its modest pink or white flowers.

Because the leaves are so large, this species does best with generous spacing, allowing each leaf room to expand without overlapping its neighbors.

29. Little Brother Montgomery Begonia

This rex-like hybrid has star-shaped leaves in silver with bronze and green speckled veins, along with soft pink flowers.

It bridges the gap between plain rhizomatous types and full rex cultivars, offering pattern without demanding the highest humidity levels rex types often need.

Its speckled veining also becomes more pronounced under bright, indirect light, so a well-lit spot brings out considerably more detail than a dim corner would.

30. Pewterware Begonia

Pewterware grows about 18 inches tall, with silver foliage, red leaf undersides, and light pink flowers.

Its metallic sheen holds up well in typical indoor humidity, making it a more forgiving choice than many showier rex varieties.

The red leaf underside also pairs nicely with the silver top surface, giving the plant a two-tone effect that changes depending on the viewing angle.

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Group 5: Tuberous Begonias

Tuberous begonias are grown chiefly for their large, showy flowers. Most are dug up and stored over winter in colder climates, since the tubers cannot survive frost.

31. Nonstop® Series

Nonstop is the industry benchmark for tuberous begonias, with a compact, upright habit and masses of large double flowers in nearly every color available.

Its heat tolerance is notably better than older tuberous types, which is part of why it has remained a top seller for decades rather than fading out like many older series.

Extension trial data consistently ranks Nonstop among the most reliable performers for containers, largely because its compact size resists the flopping stems common in older tuberous varieties.

32. Illumination Series

Illumination has a trailing habit that makes it a natural fit for hanging baskets, with blooms in apricot, orange, salmon, and rose.

Because the flowering stems cascade downward rather than growing upright, this series is often paired with upright annuals to fill out a mixed container.

Its double blooms also tend to be larger than those of upright tuberous types, which helps them stay visible even as they trail below the rim of a hanging basket.

33. Picotee Lace Begonia

Picotee Lace has white petals edged in ruffled red, giving each bloom a two-toned, hand-painted look.

The picotee effect, where the petal edge differs in color from the rest of the flower, is considered one of the more refined traits in tuberous begonia breeding.

Because the contrast is so delicate, this variety tends to look best displayed at close range, such as on a patio table, rather than viewed from across a large bed.

34. On Top® Sun Glow Begonia

This cultivar has dark green foliage and double, bicolor yellow-and-red flowers, and it earned recognition in university trial gardens for container performance.

Its strong color contrast within a single bloom makes it stand out even from a distance, which is useful in larger mixed containers.

It earned first-place recognition in a regional university container trial, a useful signal that its performance holds up under real growing conditions rather than just in catalog photos.

35. Sun Dancer™ Pink Begonia

Sun Dancer Pink has a branching, cascading habit with double pink blooms, suited to both hanging baskets and mixed containers.

Its cascading branches fill out a container quickly, often covering the pot rim within a single growing season.

Because the plant branches so readily, light pinching early in the season encourages an even fuller, more rounded shape by midsummer.

36. Begonia Boliviensis

This species produces graceful, arching sprays of elongated, star-shaped blooms and is a direct parent of many modern tuberous hybrids.

Its narrow, angel-wing-shaped leaves and vivid scarlet-orange flowers made a strong comeback in the nursery trade after decades of relative obscurity.

Its enormous tubers store more energy than many other tuberous species, which helps explain the unusually heavy, long-lasting flower display it produces each summer.

Group 6: Hardy and Species Begonias

This group includes cold-tolerant and wild species types, several of which can survive outdoors year after year in the right climate.

37. Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis)

Hardy begonia is genuinely cold-hardy, surviving winters as far north as USDA Hardiness Zone 6 by dying back to the ground and regrowing each spring.

Small, pink flowers bloom in drooping clusters above the foliage in late summer, and tiny bulb-like tubers form at the leaf joints, which gardeners can collect and replant.

Because it spreads readily once established, it is best planted where it has room to naturalize, rather than in a tightly controlled formal bed.

38. Begonia Metallica (Begonia incarnata)

This species has a bushy habit, growing 3 to 4 feet tall, with oval, olive-green leaves carrying a distinctive metallic gloss.

Its white blooms are modest compared to tuberous types, but the metallic leaf sheen alone makes it worth growing as a foliage specimen.

The gloss becomes most visible in dappled light, where shifting patterns of sun and shade catch the sheen differently throughout the day.

39. Fuzzy Leaf Begonia (Begonia peltata)

Fuzzy Leaf begonia grows up to 2 feet tall, with leaves covered in felt-like hairs that appear silvery green, turning nearly white when new.

The unusual leaf texture sets it apart from the smooth or glossy foliage typical of most other begonia groups, giving it a soft, almost fabric-like appearance.

The fine hairs likely help the plant manage moisture on its leaf surface, a trait more common in species adapted to fluctuating forest humidity levels.

40. Elephant Ear Begonia (Begonia scharffiana)

Native to Brazil, this species has wide, hairy leaves and white blooms, and its common name comes from its oversized leaf shape.

Its size and texture make it a strong statement plant in a shaded conservatory bed, where its broad leaves can spread without competition.

Because it originates from humid Brazilian forest floors, it performs best with consistent moisture and rarely tolerates the drier air common in typical home interiors.

41. Begonia Venosa

This species grows 16 to 24 inches tall, with thick, succulent stems and round, leathery leaves covered in fine white hairs.

Unlike most begonias, it tolerates drier conditions reasonably well, closer to a succulent than a typical shade-loving forest species.

That drought tolerance makes it a practical option for gardeners who love the look of begonias but tend to underwater their houseplants.

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Group 7: Shrub-Like and Specialty Begonias

This final group covers succulent-type begonias and a handful of specialty cultivars that don’t fit neatly into the categories above.

42. Begonia Dregei

This species has a swollen stem base, called a caudex, along with small leaves and small white flowers, and it should be treated more like a succulent than a typical begonia.

Nearly all cultivated caudex-type begonias trace back to this single species, which makes it an important reference point for anyone collecting this specialty group.

Its swollen caudex stores water much like a succulent’s stem, allowing the plant to survive longer dry spells than the average shade-loving begonia.

43. Passing Storm Begonia

Passing Storm is a rhizomatous hybrid grown mainly for its beautiful lavender foliage rather than its flowers.

Its unusual leaf color sets it apart from the greens, silvers, and bronzes common elsewhere in the genus, giving shaded gardens a rare cool-toned accent.

Pairing it with lighter green companion plants tends to make the lavender tone read even more clearly, since the contrast helps the unusual color stand out.

44. Cotes de Castillon Begonia

This cultivar is winter-hardy with glossy silver leaves and a maroon underside, accented by burgundy petioles and pink flowers.

Its cold tolerance combined with ornamental foliage makes it a useful option for gardeners who want rex-style color without the typical rex begonia’s frost sensitivity.

Because it can survive outdoors through winter in suitable zones, it offers a rare middle ground between demanding indoor rex types and fully hardy garden species.

45. Canary Wings Begonia

Canary Wings grows 12 to 18 inches tall in an upright, mounded form, with golden to chartreuse foliage and bright red blooms.

The unusually bright yellow-green leaf color makes it stand out sharply against darker green companion plants, functioning almost like a living highlight in a mixed bed.

Its foliage color tends to be most intense in bright, filtered light, fading toward a plainer green if the plant is kept in deep shade for too long.

Quick Comparison: Choosing the Right Begonia

Purpose	Best Begonia Types
Sunny garden borders	Wax Begonia, Senator Red, Cocktail Series
Hanging baskets	Illumination Series, Sun Dancer Pink
Colorful houseplant foliage	Escargot, Black Magic, T REX Painter’s Palette
Easiest indoor begonia	Angel Wing, Dragon Wing Red, Polka Dot
Cold-hardy outdoor planting	Hardy Begonia, Cotes de Castillon
Large showy flowers	Nonstop Series, Picotee Lace
Shade garden foliage substitute	Star Begonia, Beefsteak Begonia

Growing Begonias: What the Research Says

Begonia seeds are typically started indoors, often 16 weeks before the intended outdoor planting date, and should sit on the soil surface rather than be buried.

Seeds germinate in 15 to 20 days when kept at 70 to 75°F, according to university trial data, so patience matters more than it does with faster-sprouting annuals.

Most begonias prefer a slightly acidic soil pH, generally between 5.5 and 6.5, which suits their preference for organically rich, well-drained growing media.

Overwatering during active flowering is one of the leading causes of failure in tuberous types, often producing bud drop and soft stem rot before gardeners notice a problem.

A Note on Toxicity and Safety

Begonias are attractive, but they are not harmless to pets. All parts of the plant are considered toxic to cats and dogs, according to university extension sources.

The underground rhizomes and tubers carry the highest concentration of calcium oxalate crystals, the compound responsible for most of the toxic effects.

If you share a home with curious pets, it is worth keeping tuberous and rhizomatous types out of easy reach, even though begonias are not typically fatal in small amounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many types of begonia actually exist? More than 2,000 species have been documented, and when hybrid cultivars are included, the total climbs well past 10,000 named varieties.

Which begonia is easiest for beginners? Cane-type begonias, especially Dragon Wing and Angel Wing varieties, are widely considered the most forgiving for new growers.

Do all begonias need shade? Most prefer partial shade, since they evolved as forest understory plants, though bronze-leaved wax begonias tolerate considerably more direct sun.

Can I keep a tuberous begonia year after year? Yes, if you live somewhere with hard winter frost, dig up the tuber after the first frost blackens the foliage and store it in a cool, dry place until spring.

Are rex begonias hard to grow? They can be more demanding than other groups, mainly because they need consistently high humidity and are prone to root rot if overwatered.

Final Thoughts

Begonias reward a little patience with an enormous amount of variety. Once you understand the three root structures, the rest of the family starts to make a lot more sense.

I would encourage any plant lover to try at least one type from each major group. The differences between a sun-loving wax begonia and a humidity-hungry rex are far more dramatic than the shared name suggests.

Whichever type you choose, the payoff is consistent: reliable color, striking foliage, and a plant family with something for nearly every growing condition.

References

1. University of Florida, UF/IFAS Extension (EDIS) — A Beginner’s Guide to Begonias: Classification and Diversity https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP581
2. University of Florida, UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions — Begonias https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/begonias/
3. University of Minnesota Extension — Begonia https://extension.umn.edu/flowers/begonia
4. Clemson University, Home and Garden Information Center — Begonia https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/begonia/
5. North Carolina State University Extension, Plant Toolbox — Begonia https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/begonia/
6. North Carolina State University Extension, Plant Toolbox — Begonia, Rex Types (Painted Leaf Begonia) https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/begonia-rex-types/
7. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service — PLANTS Database, Genus Begonia https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/BEGON