{"product_id":"begonia-negrosensis","title":"Begonia cf. negrosensis","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSmall, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ebright pink\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e-dotted cane begonia. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBegonia\u003c\/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003enegrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e is a cane begonia from the Philippine island of Negros. It is endemic to this island and is also named after it. There it grows in the shady undergrowth of premontane rainforests at altitudes from 600 to 1600m. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe “cf.” in the name stands for the Latin \u003cem\u003econfer\u003c\/em\u003e (en.: compare!) and is used when one is uncertain about the identification of a species. This is the case here, because although this species is sold as \u003cem\u003eB. negrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e and we also sell it with this name, some of its characteristics do not match the “real” \u003cem\u003eB. negrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e. In herbarium records, this species is described as a shrub up to 3 m tall with stems 2.5 cm thick and unicolored green leaves! This is obviously quite different from the plants we offer here as \u003cem\u003eB.\u003c\/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003enegrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNevertheless: The identification is not completely out of the air, because young \u003cem\u003eB. negrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e indeed look similar to our plants here. Supposedly they lose these pink dots at a certain size. However, the plants sold in the trade as \u003cem\u003eB. negrosensis \u003c\/em\u003enever reach this large size and keep their dots (most of the time). Whether it is a new species or perhaps a dwarf form of the true \u003cem\u003eB. negrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e is not clear yet. For this reason we sell these plants as \u003cem\u003eBegonia\u003c\/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003enegrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe thin stems of these plants grow only about 30 cm high without support. As they grow taller, they bend to the side under their own weight and eventually either touch the ground or break off. We recommend cutting back the stems before this happens or staking them to a small bamboo pole or chopstick. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe olive to dark green leaves are velvety, matte and strikingly wavy, giving them a very three-dimensional appearance. Their most striking feature are of course the bright pink dots, which downright seem to glow. On closer inspection, the dots even glisten in the light as if they were made of metal paint. The leaves usually only grow to about 6 to 8 cm long and 4 cm wide. Young leaves are olive green and darken with time. \u003cem\u003eBegonia\u003c\/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003enegrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e looks a little like a tiny, pink version of the popular angel wing begonia (\u003cem\u003eBegonia maculata\u003c\/em\u003e). Older plants of \u003cem\u003eBegonia\u003c\/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003enegrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e tend to be somewhat less heavily dotted. However, you can simply cut them back and let them grow again. The new growth will then be bright pink patterned again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBegonia\u003c\/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003enegrosensis\u003c\/em\u003e blooms with salmon to pink colored flowers from a height of about 30 cm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Plant Lady SF","offers":[{"title":"6”","offer_id":41300620378318,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0574\/2280\/7246\/products\/image_5accbb65-1f94-48f5-93d8-2a0415720c5b.jpg?v=1656896465","url":"https:\/\/theplantladysf.com\/products\/begonia-negrosensis","provider":"The Plant Lady SF","version":"1.0","type":"link"}