B. ‘Gin-Sei’

A group of researchers at the Isotope Laboratory in Tokyo, Japan created two Rex cultivars using Begonia ‘Winter Queen’ as the test subject. These were B. ‘Gin-Sei’ (sometimes spelled B. 'Ginsei') and B. ‘Ryoku-Ha’ (sometimes spelled B. 'Ryokuha').

Parent variety: Winter Queen (provided by Tokyo Metropolitan Agricultural Experiment Station)

Irradiation treatment: Using a 60 Co-Y source, adventitious buds of leaf cuttings were irradiated at a dose rate of 200 R/hr, with a total dose of 10 kR (1966).

The branch mutation was isolated through organ culture, and its stability was confirmed in 1968.

The leaves are green with numerous small, distinct silvery-white spots. The leaf margins are reddish-brown. The silvery-white color is beautiful in dim light.

Other plants grow to a height of 25-30 cm and their growth is normal.

Large, irregularly shaped, heart-shaped leaves measuring 25-30 cm in length and 20-25 cm in width.

• Classification: Cultivar
• Plant Type: Rex Cultorum
• Origin: Asia, Japan
• Originator: Naoki Matsubara, Koji Shigematsu & Hirokatsu Suda
• Date of Origin: 1968