Begonia manicata
An old, easy upright-rhizomatous begonia from Mexico and Central America, with large leaves (18 cm or more across) and the red 'cuffs' of stiff hairs around the top of each leaf stalk that give it its name. It grows in seasonally dry montane forest, flowers pink to white in winter, and copes with lower humidity than most rhizomatous species. It is a parent of the beefsteak begonia, B. 'Erythrophylla'.
Where it grows wild
Wild records span lowland to montane forest from central and southern Mexico to Nicaragua, with most between about 900 and 1700 m. That is mainly humid to seasonally dry premontane and oak or pine-oak forest, where begonias of this type grow on shaded banks, slopes and rocky ground. The type material came from the Veracruz moist forests. No detailed field habitat description was found this round.
GBIF records run from 82 to 2621 m, with a median of 1275 m across 231 records with elevations. It is mainly a mid-elevation plant with cool nights.
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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.