Begonia plant named ‘EC-BEGO-2304’

A new and distinct cultivar of Begonia plant named ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ is disclosed, characterized by curved, toothed, dark green leaves with silvery-white dots. Plants have strong stems with thick and glossy foliage. The new variety is a Begonia, typically used as an ornamental plant.

Latin name of the genus and species:Begonia maculata.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program to produce distinct and better performingBegoniavarieties. The new variety was selected as a seedling resulting from the crossing made by the inventor, Obed J. Smit, a citizen of the Netherlands, in 2018. The seed parent is the unpatentedBegonia maculata‘180027’, a variety from the inventor's breeding line. The pollen parent is an unnamed, unpatented specimen ofBegonia maculata. The new variety was selected by the inventor in 2018 at a commercial greenhouse in Sappemeer, the Netherlands.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ by terminal cuttings was first performed in Sappemeer, the Netherlands at a commercial greenhouse in March 2020, and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type through successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, day length, and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘EC-BEGO-2304’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ as a new and distinctBegoniacultivar:1. Very dark green leaf color with many small silvery-white dots.2. Unique curved and toothed leaf-rim.3. Strong stems.4. Thick, glossy leaves.

PARENT COMPARISONS

Plants of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ are similar to plants of the female parent in most horticultural characteristics, however, plants of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ differ from in the following characteristics:1. Leaf color of the new variety is dark green, while leaf color of the seed parent is dark red.2. Leaves of the new variety are larger than leaves of the seed parent.3. Plants of the new variety are larger than plants of the seed parent.

Plants of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ are similar to plants of the male parent in most horticultural characteristics, however, plants of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ differ in the following characteristics:1. Leaf color of the new variety is dark green with silvery-white dots, while leaf color of the pollen parent is bright green with fewer white dots.2. Leaf underside of the new variety is colored dark red, while leaf underside of the pollen parent is colored a lighter red.3. Leaves of the new variety are bent slightly downwards, while leaves of the pollen parent grow horizontally.4. Leaf venation of the new variety is clearly visible, while leaf venation of the pollen parent is hardly visible.

COMMERCIAL COMPARISONS

Plants of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ are similar to plants of the commercial varietyBegonia‘Double Dot’, unpatented. However, plants of the new cultivar differ in the following characteristics:1. Leaf color of the new variety is dark green with silvery-white dots, while the leaf color of this comparator is lighter green with white dots.2. Leaf underside of the new variety is colored dark red, while leaf underside of this comparator is green.3. Leaves of the new variety are curved with a deep-toothed rim, while leaves of this comparator are hardly curved with a shallow-toothed rim.

Plants of the new cultivar ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ are similar to plants of co-pending U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 18/387,381, ‘EC-BEGO-2305’. However, plants of the new cultivar differ in the following characteristics:1. Leaf color of the new variety is very dark green with silvery-white dots, while the leaf color of this comparator is dark green with fewer green-white dots.2. Leaf underside of the new variety is colored dark red, while leaf underside of this comparator is green-red.3. Leaves of the new variety are curved with a deep-toothed rim, while leaves of this comparator are hardly curved with a shallow-toothed rim.4. Leaves of the new variety are smaller than leaves of this comparator.5. Leaves of the new variety are glossy, while leaves of this comparator are not.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart 2015 except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observations and measurements describe ‘EC-BEGO-2304’ plants at 14 weeks of age, grown in a greenhouse in Sappemeer, the Netherlands during October. The growing temperature ranged from 16° C. to 20° C. at night to 18° C. to 20° C. during the day. Measurements and numerical values represent averages of typical flowering types.Botanical classification:Begonia maculata‘EC-BEGO-2304’.

PROPAGATION

Time to initiate roots: About 21 days at approximately 21° C. in summer.Time to produce rooted cutting: About 28 days at 21° C. in summer.Description of roots: Fibrous, fine, moderately dense, freely branching. White in color, not accurately measured with RHS chart.

PLANT

FOLIAGE

FLOWER

REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

Seeds and fruits: None observed to date.Disease/pest resistance: Similar resistance nor susceptibility to normal diseases and pests ofBegoniahas been observed.Temperature tolerance: Tolerates temperatures up to 35° C. Hardy to USDA zones 10 to 12. Low to moderate tolerance to rain. Low tolerance to wind.