Begonia cathayana

An upright begonia up to about 60 cm tall from south-east Yunnan, southern Guangxi and northern Vietnam. Its velvety, dark green leaves carry a red-purple V-shaped band and are often red-purple beneath, and its flowers are pink or orange. Flora of China records it in shaded scrub and forest at 800–1,500 m, flowering in August. It suits growers who can give it shade, high humidity in summer and a clearly cooler, drier winter.

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry

Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Flora of China describes scrubby vegetation or forests in shaded places. The erect, branched stems and poorly developed rhizome suggest a forest-floor or forest-edge herb in the monsoon hill forests of the Yunnan–Guangxi–Vietnam border region.

Flora of China gives 800–1,500 m. The nine GBIF records with an elevation span 500–1,680 m, median 1,219 m.

China South-CentralChina SoutheastVietnam

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.