Learn about wild food with Green Deane. This video presents the begonia as an edible plant that has been grown around the world both as food and as an ornamental.
Culinary uses are found in Japan, India, Indonesia (a sauce for meat and fish), Myanmar, China (tea, salads and wild snack), Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay and the Philippines. For example, the leaves of Begonia fimbristipula, a deciduous herb with tubers 7-8 mm in diameter, are harvested and dried for brewing a beverage (tea) in Guangdong, China.
The Journal of Economic Botany has mentioned the following edible begonias:
B. annulata (aka B. hatacoa)
B. auriculata
B. barbata
B. fimbristipula (used to make a tea)
B. gracilis
B. grandis var evansiana
B. hernandioides
B. malabarica
B. mannii
B. palmata
B. picta
B. plebeja (stems peeled, sap is used to make a drink)
According to Farmacy Friday | Agriscaping, Begonia semperflorens has the tastes of lime, lemon and green apple. Its medicinal value lies in pain relief.
According to Noble Media Works, Begonia malabarica has the power to cure serious nervous system problems and chest pain, to treat cold and congestion, to change skin tone and remove wrinkles.
Some animals, however cute and small, are not averse to consuming begonias with gusto.
Share this page with other people or social media: