Cultivar

B. ‘Kumwha’

Photos

4 photos

Identity

Genus: Begonia
Name: B. ‘Kumwha’
Originator: Don Horton
Date of Origin: 1954
Place: Costa Mesa, Ca.
Country: USA
Region: America
Plant Type: Rhizomatous
Female Parent: B. kenworthyae
Male Parent: B. ‘Reichenheimii’
ABS No: 60
Publication Reference: ABS; B54 a208; B83 r044;
Article References: The Begonian, Aug 1958, p 175;
Photo References: JBS, Begonias :54. 1980; The Begonian, Aug 1958; The Begonian, Feb 1958;

Plant

Description: One of the finest. hybrids I have ever created is "Kumwha." This is a cross of B. "Kenworthyi"on "Reichenheimi." "Kenworthyi" is noted for its reddish purple leaves and peculiar star leaf shape. "Reichenheiml" on the other hand, has a predominately green leaf.The· offspring, "Kumwha," has inherited the red color of "Kenworthyi" but has a leaf almost as large as that of "Reichenheimi's." The leaf shape is somewhat intermediate between the two. B. "Reicheriheimi" has one of the nicest inflorescences of the rhizomatous begonias, carrying quantities of pink flowers held well above the foliage. "Kenworthyi" also has pink flowers but not on so long a peduncle in proportion to the size of the plant. "Kumwha" holds its pink blossoms well above the foliage with the added dividend that it is almost ever blooming. Other crosses I have made and seen made with B. "Kenwoirhyi" all show the purplish red color and a certain leaf modification that is typical of that plant. This is well illustrated in "Colonel Gale," a hybrid of Louise Schwerdtfeger, which is a cross between "Kenworthyi" and B. manicata. Here. the "Kenworthyi" leaf shape and color are again evident. These two interesting characteristics· make "Kenworthyi" a good parent especially in light of the fact that it is not a good grower and goes dormant for a period in the spring. This illustrates the point that in plant breeding you aim to breed out the poor characteristics and retain the good. - Don Horton
Stem Type: Erect

Lineage

Parents

Female parent

B. kenworthyae

Male parent

B. ‘Reichenheimii’

Ancestry tree

Female parent

Male parent

Female parent

Female parent

B. heracleifolia var. heracleifolia

B. radiata Graham, Edinburgh New Philos. J. :182. 1833.; B. tanacetifolia hort. ex Graham, Edinburgh New Philos. J.:182. 1833.; B. nigrescens Van Houtte ex Otto, Hamburger Garten–Blumenzeitung 8:9. 1852. —L.B. Smith & D.C. Wasshausen, Phytologia 54:469. 1984.; B. jatrophifolia hort. ex Klotzsch, Abh. Königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1854 :215. 1855; Begoniac. :94. 1855. "jatrophaefolia”, pro syn. Gireoudia heracleifolia Klotzsch var. viridis Klotzsch. 1855. —A. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(1):335. 1864.; B. trigonoptera Sprague, Bull. Misc. Inform. :218. 1921;

Male parent

B. strigillosa

B. daedalea Lemaire, Ill. Hort. 7, Misc. :54. 1860; Ill. Hort. 8:pl. 269. 1861. —A. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(1):342. 1864.; B. barbana C. de Candolle, Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belgique 35:261 1896.; B. tinctoria L. B. Smith & B. G. Schubert, Contr. Gray Herb. 127:29. 1939;

Male parent

B. heracleifolia var. heracleifolia

Descendants

No recorded descendants.

Culture

No populated fields in this section.