Story behind the art of Lauren Meier

29th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators

Rex Begonia x3

Begonia rex hybrid

Rex begonias are some of the most highly hybridized plants, often cultivated for their foliage rather than flowers, and are prized for their diverse range of leaf color, texture, and pattern. Their exceptional leaf forms combine a wide range of colors such as silver, white, pink, red, burgundy, purple, green or bronze and some have metallic or iridescent properties. The pigments found in these colorful leaves include chlorophyll, anthocyanins and reflective structures that create shimmering effects in some cultivated varieties. The leaves are also asymmetrical, with one side of the blade larger than the other, a distinguishing characteristic of the genus Begonia, which contains more than 2,000 native species, primarily in moist tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. 

The original Begonia rex species is native to northeastern India where it is pollinated by bumblebees, sweat bees and syrphid flies. It was named and described in 1857 by Jules Antoine Adolph Henri Putzeys in the Journal General d’Horticulture. Modern rex begonias are complex hybrids bred for more than century to produce distinctive foliage traits, making them one of the most diverse groups of ornamental houseplants and a favorite subject for collectors. Some sources refer to the cultivated species as the Begonia Rex Cultorum Group. This is a monoecious species, with often overlooked, small, delicate separate male and female, terminal flowers arranged in a cluster. 

The other-worldly character of this cultivar, Jurassic™ ‘Green Streak’, made it a fun and interesting subject to illustrate at a larger scale in order to celebrate its incredible leaf pattern as well as details of the male and female flowers. It is an example of ornamental foliage that is more visually spectacular than the flowers themselves. I did many graphite studies of enlarged leaves and flowers, but I really enjoyed celebrating their color and pattern in watercolor. It was also my first foray into perylene pigments. With help from my microscope, enlarging the flowers also allowed me to study the male (staminate) and female (pistillate) structures, which made them easier to portray on the page. Those details show a front (face) view of the staminate and pistillate flowers, plus side (lateral) elevation of the female flower, which shows the inferior, winged, tri-carpellate ovary. Rather than a natural history study, which is what I tend to focus on in my sketchbooks, drawings, and paintings, this piece has a more modern graphic feel. 

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