Begonia U192

This lovely little species from the Philippines, B. U192, has always been a favorite. A delicate looking begonia with sparkly pink leaves, it's classified as a trailing/scandent; it trails along the rainforest floor and occasionally climbs. In tropical and subtropical climates it makes a beautiful ground cover, but it can also be grown in a hanging basket. The one in the picture is growing in a shallow tray. When the light hits the leaves they sparkle with thousands of tiny built-in reflectors. It blooms almost year-round.

Incorrectly called 'Martin's Mystery' by some growers, this is actually an unidentified species. U numbers are given to species until they can be officially identified. In the past when new species were found and named, it was often later discovered that the same plant had already been found and named in the past. This caused a lot of confusion. Giving new species U numbers avoids that problem. I wish they would hurry up on this one. It deserves a name that suits its almost magical cuteness.