Ft. Worth Botanic Garden
Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Ft. Worth Botanic Garden Begonia Collection and Begonia Species Bank
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden has one of the oldest and best-established collections of living plants in any public space in Texas. Perhaps the most significant holdings in the garden’s living collections are the over 1,000 members of the Begoniaceae. The Fort Worth Botanic Garden holds the largest collection of begonias in North America, including hundreds of species and rare cultivated varieties. In 2015, the FWBG became the first botanic garden in Texas to receive accreditation for its Begonia collection through the Plant Collections Network and currently has the only accredited Begonia collection in the nation.
Begonias grow in the wild throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and often face loss of habitat from deforestation, logging, mining, and agriculture. The FWBG Begonia Species Bank serves as insurance against their extinction. Additions are constantly being made to the collection through propagation and the acquisition of new species.
ABS Support of the Begonia Collection and Begonia Species Bank
Every year, financial contributions from ABS, the ABS Southwest Region, fundraisers, and donations from individual ABS members have greatly supported the collection. These funds are used for maintenance of the collection, which is essential. Everything from pots, to terrarium materials, to the purchase of new benches for the Species Bank. As important as the financial contributions, ABS and its members contribute by donating begonias: cultivars, hybrids, and species.
ABS also supports the Begonia Collection and Species Bank with a dedicated crew of volunteers. These volunteers give their time every week to water, repot, propagate, groom, pollinate, collect seeds, and more.
ABS members at the FWBG Begonia Collection
