Can anyone tell me the specific ID of this strawberry begonia? I have read conflicting info on the tricolor, magic carpet. So I am not sure which one this is. Someone told me the magic carpet was brown. ?? Can anyone help?
I have no in-depth knowledge of this topic but I am used to this being called 'Tricolor'. One of my books gives 'Magic Carpet' as a synonym of 'Tricolor'. Maybe you have consulted a specialist source that differentiates the two, perhaps on a clonal level. Experts on a narrow topic may have found things out that contradict a generally held concept.
Of course I didn't bookmark any of the sites I was on. I am not sure. Maybe they are the same thing. Just more common names to confuse people in different parts I guess.
Unless a specialist knows there is actually a distinctly different 'Magic Carpet' of independent origin from other stock grown as 'Tricolor' then the established view that 'Magic Carpet' is a superfluous name for 'Tricolor' is the one to follow. The thing about Latin cultivar names like 'Tricolor' is that these are often old - it having been ruled that new Latin cultivar names are not to be used anymore (new ones do get coined due to some growers not following the rules) - with the long period of time the name has been in use providing plenty of opportunity for multiple independent introductions using the same name to have been made. If all these different plants all have the characteristics of the cultivar, then calling them all 'Tricolor' is fine. (Sometimes cultivars well-known to consist of many clones come to be classed as a Cultivar Group or differentiated in some other way). Maybe 'Magic Carpet' is one such, a different introduction from others being called 'Tricolor' but not having different enough characteristics to be entitled to its own cultivar name.
Wow! Thanks for clearing that up. Thanks for taking the time to explain these basics to me (thinking of my other post also of course)! I appreciate the information!
