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
5.28.
Begonia unduavensis
Rusby, Descr. S. Amer. Pl.
64 (1920). –
Type:
Bolivia
,
[La Paz
Department,
Prov. Sud Yungas
], Unduavi, [
16°19′S
,
67°54′W
],
8000 ft
,
x 1885
,
H.H. Rusby
677 (
lectotype
NY
[
NY00118708
] designated in:
Revista Univ. (Cuzco) 33(87): 80 (1944)
by Smith, L.B. & Schubert, B.G
.;
isolectotypes
F
[
F0052644
F
],
GH
[
GH00068294
],
NY
[
NY01477261
],
US
[
US00115484
]
).
L.B. Smith & B.G. Schubert,
Revista Univ. (Cuzco) 33(87): 80 (1944)
; R.C. Foster, Contr. Gray Herb. 184: 137 (1958); D.C. Wasshausen
et al.
in P.M. JØrgensen
et al.
(eds), Cat.
Bolivia
,
Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 129: 386 (2013)
.
Begonia lignosa
Rusby
, Descr. S. Amer. Pl.
65 (1920). – Type:
Bolivia
, [
La Paz Department
], Prov. Sud Yungas, Unduavi, [
16
°
19′S
,
67
°
54′W
],
3100 m
,
xi 1910
,
O. Buchtien
2899 (
lectotype
NY [
NY00118625
]
designated here
, first stage designated in: Revista
Univ. (Cuzco) 33(87): 81 (1944)
by Smith, L.B. & Schubert, B.G.;
isolectotypes
NY
[
NY01477266
],
US
[2:
US00115367
,
US00074725
]
).
R.C. Foster, Contr. Gray Herb. 184: 137 (1958).
Begonia obtecticaulis
auct. non. Irmsch., D.C. Wasshausen
et al
.
in P.M. JØrgensen
et al.
(eds), Cat.
Bolivia
,
Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 129: 385 (2013)
.
Caulescent herb, lacking a tuber or rhizome.
Stem
erect, to
50 cm
tall,
1.5–4 mm
in diameter, branching, internodes (5–)
25–50 mm
, glabrous to sparsely pilose, red.
Stipules
persistent, triangular, 7–18 ×
2–4 mm
, apex acuminate, mucronate, glabrous, light brown, margin entire, aciliate.
Leaves
alternate, basifixed;
petioles
joining blade at almost a right angle,
5–28 mm
long, glabrous to sparsely pilose;
blades
asymmetrical, transversely deltoid, 30–95 ×
15–35 mm
, apex acuminate, base cuneate on the narrow side of the blade, auriculate on the broad side of the blade, venation palmate-pinnate, 4 or 5 veins from the base, 3 or 4 veins on the broad side of the blade, 2 or 3 on the narrow side, upper surface dark green, sometimes with a red line around the margin, sparsely pilose, lower surface pale green to red, sparsely pilose, margin double-dentate, ciliate.
Inflorescences
1–3 per stem, axillary, erect, arising close to the apex of the stem, a dichasial cyme, protandrous, with up to 16 staminate flowers and 8 pistillate flowers;
peduncle
22–33 mm
long, glabrous, red;
pedicels of staminate flowers
5–22 mm
long, glabrous, red;
pedicels of pistillate flowers
7–16 mm
long, glabrous, red;
bracts
persistent, elliptic to lanceolate, 4–7 ×
1–3 mm
, apex obtuse to acute, red to brown, glabrous, margin lacerate, ciliate.
Staminate flowers
:
tepals
2, spreading, white to pink, orbicular, 6–14 ×
7–14 mm
, apex rounded, base rounded, margin entire, glabrous;
stamens
c.75, fused at the base, spreading, filaments
1.5–2 mm
long, anthers symmetrically basifixed, oblong,
1.2–1.5 mm
long, dehiscing via lateral slits, connectives extended
0.3–0.5 mm
.
Pistillate flowers
:
bracteoles
lacking;
tepals
deciduous in fruit, 5, spreading, elliptic to ovate, 9–14 ×
3–6 mm
, apex rounded, margin entire, aciliate, glabrous, white to pink;
ovary body
ovoid, 4.5–5 ×
3.5–4 mm
, pink, 3-winged, wings pink, one wing longer than the other two, rectangular, ascending, front edge truncate, apex truncate, lower edge slightly rounded, 6–9 ×
7–13 mm
, the shorter two wings semicircular to triangular, front edge truncate, apex rounded, lower edge gently curved, 4.5–5 ×
1–2 mm
, 3-locular, placentas bifid, bearing ovules on both surfaces;
styles
3, yellow, free at base, irregularly multifid from around half their length, stigmatic papillae in a spirally twisted band.
Fruiting pedicel
to
3.2 cm
long;
fruit
held erect, body ovoid, 9.5–12.5 ×
7.5–12 mm
, light brown, glabrous, wings same shape as in pistillate flower, light brown, longest wing expanding to 17 ×
30 mm
, shorter two wings expanding to 10.5 ×
3 mm
.
Distribution
. Endemic to
Bolivia
.
Nomenclatural notes
. The name
Begonia unduavensis
Rusby
was published based on the collection
H.H. Rusby
677, but no herbaria were cited. Rusby’s protologue cited material collected at an elevation of
8000 ft
, and the known sheets of this material state either
8000 ft
or
12,000 ft.
The
two sheets that state
8000 ft
are one in the
New York
Botanical Garden
herbarium (
NY00118708
) and one in the
Field Museum in Chicago
(
F0052644
F).
Smith & Schubert (1944a)
cited the type of
Begonia unduavensis
in the
New York
Botanical Garden
herbarium, which is an effective lectotypification.
We
cite as
syntypes
all sheets that were collected at
12,000 ft.
The protologue of
Begonia lignosa
Rusby
cited the collection
O. Buchtien
2899, but no herbarium (
Rusby, 1920
).
Smith & Schubert (1944a)
cited material in the
New York
Botanical Garden herbarium as the type, which counts as an effective lectotypification because there are two matching sheets in
New York
. We select the duplicate NY00118625 as the
lectotype
, because it has both flowers and fruits.
Identification notes
.
Begonia unduavensis
is most similar to
B. unilateralis
Rusby
, with both species having relatively small (<
8 cm
long), obliquely lanceolate to ovate leaves that are truncate at the base. They are best distinguished by their indumentum.
Begonia unduavensis
has stems, petioles and leaf laminae that are sparsely to densely pilose, whereas
B. unilateralis
has an indumentum of peltate scales. This indumentum is densest on the stems, petioles, and veins on the leaf lower surface (although it can rub off); moderately dense on the lower leaf surface; and sparse on the upper leaf surface.