Species · genus Begonia · Begoniaceae

Bolivian Begonia

Begonia boliviensis A.DC.

Also known as: Tuberous Begonia

Growth habit

tuberous geophyte or epiphyte

Native range

Argentina Northwest, Bolivia

Reference · B. boliviensis

Cultivars of B. boliviensis

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under B. boliviensis yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Begonia boliviensis is a tuberous geophyte from the seasonally moist slopes of Bolivia and northwest Argentina, where it stores water in an underground tuber and goes dormant in the dry season. Give it bright indirect light and a fast-draining mix, and water only when the top inch or so of mix has dried out, since the tuber rots if left sitting wet. Expect it to die back and rest in winter; ease off water sharply during dormancy.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

Medium

Temperature

13–27 °C

Soil mix

Light, well-draining peat-based potting mix

Propagation

Tubers or stem cuttings

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed every two weeks while in growth

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Abundant pendulous flowers through summer

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Soluble calcium oxalates — mouth irritation, vomiting; tubers most toxic. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Bolivian Begonia yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.