Begonia acetosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Begoniaceae, native to southeastern Brazil.[1] It is used to create new begonia hybrids due to its attractive foliage.[2] [3] Begonia acetosa has been cultivated in the United States since 1946, when Mulford B. Foster introduced the species from forested mountains near Rio de Janeiro.[4] It was first described in 1831 by José Mariano de Conceição Vellozo. The specific epithet acetosa means 'acid' or 'sour', referring to the rhubarb-like taste of its leaves.[4]
Begonia acetosa is an herbaceous, creeping, rhizomatous begonia, growing up to tall. It has thick, horizontally spreading, pale green branches. Leaves are ovate to orbicular, and asymmetrical.[5] [4] The leaves are a dull green on the upper surface and a deep wine red on the under surface. Both the underside and upper surface of the leaf are covered with a dense layer of short white hairs. Petioles are a rusty reddish brown to a deep red, and covered in short, woolly hairs. The flowers of B.acetosa are white.