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Begoniaceae (from the genus Begonia, named in honor of Michael Begon, a French promoter of botany). Begonia Family. Fig. 41. Herbs, rarely shrubby, hairs usually scale-like or branched: leaves alternate, usually oblique: flowers monoecious, regular, epigynous, cymose, the staminate opening first; perianth of the staminate flowers of 2 valvate sepals and 2 petals, all petaloid; perianth of the pistillate flowers of 2 to many similar petaloid parts; stamens numerous, separate or nearly so; ovary inferior, 2-3-celled. usually sharply angled and winged; ovules numerous; styles 3, more or less branched and bearing very peculiar crescent-shaped, kidney-shaped, or, more often, spiral, velvety stigmas, rarely straight: fruit a capsule, rarely a berry.
The Begonia family has 4 genera and about 500 species, most of which belong to the genus Begonia. They are widely distributed throughout the tropics, but perhaps most abundant in South America along the Andes to Mexico, and in the eastern Himalayas southeastward to the Malay Peninsula. The Begoniaceae constitute a distinct group remotely related to the Cactaceae, Loasaceae, Passifloraceae and Cucurbitaceae.
The family is of little economic importance except for ornamental purposes. Many species contain oxalic acid and are eaten as salad, and as a remedy for scurvy. The roots of some are astringent; others have a purgative root, used in certain tropics for syphilis and scrofula. The Begoniaceae is one of the most important ornamental families.
Very many species and hybrids of Begonia are grown for greenhouse and bedding purposes, both for the flowers and the foliage.
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