This key is a complement to that published by the Smithsonian Institute, Begoniaceae Edition 1, 1984,
and Begoniaceae Edition 2, 2002. It utilizes the same mainkey and subkey structure as in the
earlier publication, with many of the couplets being the same. Some minor word changes have been made
to clarify the leads. Two major additions in this Pictorial Begonia Key are the separation
between species (1) by continent of origin and (2) by alphabetical listings. These simplifications are
possible because of the much smaller number of species involved.
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The Pictorial Begonia Key covers over 300 begonia species; those which are currently being grown
by ABS members. Of these, we now have good digital color pictures of over half of these.
These photos show the plants and details of the leaves and flowers.
The other species will be photographed with time.
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