AN UPDATED CHECKLIST AND KEY TO THE SPECIES OF BOLIVIAN BEGONIA, INCLUDING ONE NEW SPECIES
Author
Moonlight, Peter
Author
Fuentes, Alfredo F.
text
Edinburgh Journal of Botany
2022
2022-08-18
79
407
1
66
http://dx.doi.org/10.24823/ejb.2022.407
journal article
10.24823/EJB.2022.407
1747-0036
10553332
10.43.
Begonia sp. 1
Bolivia
,
Beni Department
, Prov. Ballivián,
río Beni
,
Rurrenabaque
,
Encañada Suse
,
1 km
upstream
,
14
°
28′S
,
67
°
31′W
,
320 m
,
18 v 1990
,
D.C. Daly
,
N. Limpias
&
R. Sastre
6487 (
NY
)
.
Distribution
. Endemic to
Bolivia
.
Notes
. This specimen includes one tuber, one leaf, and a single developing inflorescence with immature staminate flowers. The leaf is significantly larger than the leaves of any
other tuberous species of Bolivian
Begonia
. The species differs from most tuberous
Bolivian
Begonia
species
in lacking stems, and from the remainder in its peltate leaf
bases. The species’ habitat is also distinct from that of all other tuberous Bolivian
Begonia
species
, which are typically found at>
1500 m
elevation. In habit, the species perhaps
most resembles Colombian
Begonia hydrophylloides
L.B.Sm. & B.G.Schub.
, which also has
a tuber, few large leaves held close to the ground, and few upright, strongly protandrous inflorescences. Without more material, we are unable, however, to describe this species
or confirm its relationship to other
Begonia
species.
It is surprising how rarely the species has been collected given the long collecting history in
Beni Department
. The first
Begonia
collections in the area were made in 1901 by R. S. Williams, and more recently the area has been the focus of floristic inventory work in and surrounding the nearby Parque Nacional Madidi. This suggests that the species is either very rare or perhaps, given its tuberous habit, remains dormant for much of the year.
Identification notes
. This is the only acaulescent species of
Begonia
in
Bolivia
with a peltate leaf lamina.