Begonia Meaning

If you look at the dictionary of botany, the name begonia translates into the word - beware or to be cautious. 

It was the name that Charles Plumier, a French botanist gave this beautiful flower.  It comes mainly from the name of the 17th century governor, Michel Begon – who once was a governor of the Santa Domingo colony in the Caribbean.

The flower has nothing to do with superstitions of bad things happening when you have this flower in your yard or your home.  Apart from beware, it also means a lot of different things – depending on the person’s current situation is. 

For a person who doesn’t give any meaning to what the flowers represented in the old time, it’s just a flower.  For someone who wants to give something special to someone he or she cares about, it’s best to steer clear of begonias.  But although begonia translates to beware, it doesn’t necessarily mean a bad omen.

• Name:  Begonia
• Color:  Because it comes in a wide array of color, begonias are staples for your landscaping needs.  You can get them in vibrant colors of red and purple and lighter shades of white and salmon.  There are also begonias that are yellow and orange.
• Shape: Begonias are naturally cup shaped.  As others would describe it, begonia flowers might look like colorful bells.
• Fact:  Begonias grow lush in shaded areas especially in the equatorial countries.  From the ones that we often see at the garden of most town center and home landscape, there are 1000 more varieties that are in the wild.
• Poisonous:  Begonias, their flowers, leaves and any other part are nontoxic.
• Number of Petals:  It can be quite a challenge to know exactly how many petals a begonia has.  It’s a cluster of two female and one male flowers – it’s a one male flower in between female flowers.  On the male flower, there are quite a few petals in it.  As for the females, they have two petals each on them.
• Victorian Interpretation:  In a society that’s centered on language through flowers, begonias have been seen as a warning.  It also means being fanciful and having dark thoughts.
• Blossom Time:  Begonias come in full bloom in the months of June to July and they’ll keep blooming until the frost sets in.
• Superstitions:  As the name begonia suggests, itmeans to beware or be cautious.  On the other hand, it’s a plant that can bring in harmony in communication as well as interaction within a home or an office if it’s used in Feng Shui.
• What the Begonia Means:  Beware
• The Shape:  Begonias are mainly cup shaped flowers with a cluster of female flowers circling around the male flower.  Even when it’s fully bloomed, it still looks like a cup.
• Petals:  There are three flowers in one begonia blossom. However, the wild begonia flower type basically has four to five sepals and actually don’t have any petals.  
• Numerology:  Begonia’s numerology falls under 8 - the numerology number of power. Although it isn’t clear, there’s a good indication that one of the reasons why the meaning of the flower denotes that you have to be cautious.  You can also look at the number 8 as a free number.
• Color:  Begonias come in all kinds of colors.  It’s popularly known to be pink and also reddish but there are also begonias that are white, orange and yellow.

Herbalism and Medicine:  

More than ornamental, begonias are used as herbs curing anything from colds to disinfecting wounds. It is also found to cool down and invigorate the blood – thus it is often used for pain, sprain, trauma, sores and burns.