rex begonia
- noun
- /rɛks bɪˈɡoʊn.jə/
:
begonia rex
- Gardeners prize the rex begonia for its unusual leaf texture and decorative appearance.
Examples
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The leaves of a rex begonia are often marked with striking patterns of silver and purple.
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My grandmother grows a beautiful rex begonia on her windowsill, admired for its colorful foliage.
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I bought a beautiful rex begonia for my living room.
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The rex begonias in the garden are stunning.
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Rex begonias are prized for their stunning foliage, often featuring intricate patterns in rex begonia silver and purple.
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For vibrant indoor decoration, many gardeners choose rex begonias due to their unique leaf textures and colors.
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If you want a plant that adds elegance to your home, consider a rex begonia with its richly patterned leaves.
Synonyms
A decorative indoor plant with large rough leaves often showing silver or purple
A houseplant grown for its large patterned leaves in silver, purple, and bronze
An indoor plant with large rough leaves that have silver and red patterns and small hidden flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
rex + Begonia
The headword 'begonia' clearly signals a type of plant, so a learner who knows that will infer this is a kind of begonia. However 'rex' here is a cultivar/proper name (not a common English word) and does not transparently convey the specific decorative, hybrid, rough-textured-leaf meaning to an average B1 learner, so the relation is only partially clear.
Etymology
Rex begonia likely comes from two parts: begonia, named after a plant collector called Bégon, and rex, an old word for 'king' used because the leaves look rich and showy. So the name helps you remember it as a 'royal' begonia, which explains why gardeners love its colorful, decorative leaves.
