Begoniaceae

Begoniaceae is a family of flowering plants with two genera and about 1825 species occurring in the subtropics and tropics of both the New World and Old World. All but one of the species are in the genus "Begonia". There have been many recent discoveries of species in the genus "Begonia", such as "Begonia truncatifolia" which is endemic to San Vincente, Palawan. "B. truncatifolia" is smaller in size than other species of the genus "Begonia" and this new species is proposed Critically Endangered by standards set by the IUCN. The only other genus in the family, "Hillebrandia", is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and has a single species. Phylogenetic work supports "Hillebrandia" as the sister taxon to the rest of the family. The genus "Symbegonia" was reduced to a section of "Begonia" in 2003, as molecular phylogenies had shown it to be derived from within that genus. Members of the genus "Begonia" are well-known and popular houseplants.