秋海棠屬多年生草本，原產巴西。地下有匍匐根莖。深綠色心形葉有放射線般的淺綠色脈紋。葉緣、葉背紅色，葉面粗糙有毛。種名solimutata是由拉丁文太陽與改變兩字組合成，指葉子會隨光照強度而變色。雌雄異花，花白色或淺綠色。

A perennial herb in the genus Begonia, native to Brazil. Rhizomes creeping underground. Leaves dark green, heart-shaped with radiate pale green veins. Red on the leaf margin and underside, rough and hairy on the upper surface. The species name solimutata is a combination of the Latin word “sun” and “change”, which means that the leaves change color depending on the light intensity. Monoecious, flowers white or pale green.

半日照溫暖環境，高濕度可以促進生長。夏天需遮陰不可曝曬。栽培介質需排水良好、富含有機質。每季施用一次長效性肥料。以扦插法繁殖。

The plant normally grows in warm environments with partial sunlight and thrives vigorously in highly humid conditions. It needs shaded from direct sun in summer and prefers well-drained soils rich in organic matter. Apply long-active fertilizer once a season. Propagated by cuttings.

太陽秋海棠葉片顏色會隨著光強度進行顏色的變化，光線較強時顏色會偏亮綠色，較弱時顏色會較深，原因是葉片中的葉綠體會隨著光度強弱重新變化形態使其能在黑暗的環境中捕捉更多光線，進而改變表面顏色，是自然觀察的的優良材料。

The leaf color changes with the light intensity; when the plant receives more light, the green leaves turn brighter and become darker in the contrary condition, because the chloroplast in the blades change the shape with the light intensity in order to capture more light in the dark environments, and then change the surface color; it’s an excellent example for natural observation.