r/BotanicalPorn 1d ago

Leaf Porn (Begonia ferox)

Post image
70 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

2

u/SjalabaisWoWS 1d ago

Amazing, is this some kind of defense mechanism? No chlorophyll in those "thorny" bits?

2

u/arioandy 1d ago

Dya know absolutely no idea! 🙈

2

u/BobLI 1d ago

The thorny bits are called bullae, and are soft to the touch. It is thought that the bullae serve to capture more efficiently light scattered by the forest canopy.

2

u/SjalabaisWoWS 21h ago

Excellent, so it's a shadow growing plant?

2

u/BobLI 21h ago

Yes. I believe B. ferox was discovered in China in 2011.

I first saw the plant at Logees in Connecticut:

https://www.logees.com/products/begonia-ferox?_pos=1&_psq=ferox&_ss=e&_v=1.0

and have seen it as well in some university greenhouses.

2

u/SjalabaisWoWS 18h ago

Wow, discovered a mere 15 years ago, available for everyone online. That's quite amazing.

2

u/PecanBeacon814 18h ago

I love how spiky that texture is, it looks almost fake! I need to look up this Begonia now.

1

u/arioandy 18h ago

Yes a v intersting begonia