The Begonia
THE Begonia is a genus of Begoniaceae, a family of flowering plants with about 1500 species occurring in  South and Central America, Africa and southern Asia.
The Begonia offers more variety than just about any other genus of house plant. Its name was coined by French botanist, Charles Plumier (April 20, 1646 – November 20, 1704) in honour of Michel Begon, a governor of the then French colony of Haiti.
The name was adopted by Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist (May 23, 1707- January 10, 1778),  who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of  naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of the genus  and the species  within the genus.
The species are terrestrial, growing on land or under shrubs, and some are even epiphytic, ie, growing on another plant (such as a tree) non-parasitically, or sometimes upon some other object (such as a building or a telegraph wire), and deriving moisture and nutrients from the air and rain, and sometimes from debris accumulating around it.
The Begonia family includes everything, from plants grown for their colourful foliage to tuberous plants grown for their beautiful flowers; and from compact miniatures to tall, shrub-like angel wings with silver-marbled leaves.
Available in many colours and sizes, all Begonias have asymmetrical leaves that often are earlike in shape.
The Begonias available locally are shrubs whose large leaves are attractively marked green and white. They are popular in flower beds, container gardens, and hanging baskets indoors.
Most Begonias are easily propagated by division or stem cuttings. In addition, many can be propagated from seeds, stem cuttings, or even sections of leaves.
The plants generally require a well-drained growing medium that is neither constantly wet nor allowed to dry out completely.
Begonias are available at horticultural specialists, Flower Paradise, on Eccles Public Road, East Bank Demerara (Tel: 233-3029), with prices generally ranging from $800 and up.