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One of the natural blessings in our farm is the abundance of these flowering begonias. These plants cling to the rocks beside the walkway to the river. Their pink flowers provide a magnificent contrast to the greenery.

DSC_8694Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia. "Begonia" is the common name as well as the generic name for all members of the genus. The genus name, coined by Charles Plumier, a French patron of botany, honors Michel Bégon, a former governor of the French colony of Haiti. It was adopted by Linnaeus. As a member of the order Curcurbitales, begonias are relatively closely related to such food crops as pumpkins / squash, gourds, cucumbers, and melons.

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