Three new species, one new record and an updated checklist of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from Kalimantan, Indonesia
Author
Randi, Agusti
Author
Ardi, Wisnu H.
Author
Girmansyah, Deden
Herbarium Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Jl. Raya Jakarta-Bogor Km 46, Cibinong, 16911, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.
Author
Sitepu, Bina Swasta
Herbarium Wanariset, Environment and Forestry Standards and Instruments Application Agency, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Jl. Soekarno-Hatta KM 38, Samboja, East Kalimantan.
Author
Hughes, Mark
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20 a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH 3 5 LR.
text
Phytotaxa
2022
2022-02-04
533
1
62
72
journal article
20782
10.11646/phytotaxa.533.1.3
18db1b3a-90ad-4eb1-b65f-1fc03769deec
1179-3163
5973875
Begonia sangkulirangensis
Ardi, Girm. & Randi
,
sp. nov.
B.
sect.
Petermannia
(
Fig. 3
).
Type:—
INDONESIA
,
East Kalimantan Province
,
Karst Sangkulirang
,
Bengalon
,
Goa Tewet Trail
,
1°3’47.9”N
,
117°16’11.4”E
, ca.
80 m
elev. (cultivated at
Bogor Botanic Garden
from material collected in the wild (
Hughes
M
.,
Girmansyah D.
,
Yeats
H
. &
Ardiyani
M
.
EKBOE138
),
4 December 2019
,
Wisnu
H
.
Ardi
WI 684
(
holotype
BO
!).
Diagnosis:—
The erect habit and peltate leaves of
B. sangkulirangensis
are similar to
B. nothobaramensis
Joffre (2015: 35)
from
Brunei
but it can be easily distinguished by its shorter (
50‒60 cm
vs.
100 cm
) habit, smaller (7–12 ×
3.5–5.5 cm
vs. 9.5–18 ×
5–9 cm
) lamina, more (45‒55 vs. ca. 36) stamens, female inflorescence consistently with a single (vs. two) flower on a shorter (
10–13 mm
vs.
17‒20 mm
) pedicel, ovary wing shape cuneate (vs. rounded) at the base and apex.
Begonia sangkulirangensis
also differs from both
B. baramensis
and
B. nothobaramensis
in having a thicker and more succulent leaf lamina.
An erect herb, up to ca.
50 cm
tall. Stem branched, nearly glabrous except for moderate microscopic glandular hairs, reddish-brown, internodes
2–9 cm
apart. Stipules caducous, glabrous, elliptic, 6–8 ×
2–4 mm
, midrib prominent, margin entire, translucent, apex narrowed into bristle up to
1.5 mm
long; whitish-greenish. Leaves simple, alternate, glabrous; petioles
2–5 cm
long, concolourous with the stem, terete; lamina peltate, coriaceous, elliptic, 7–12 ×
3.5–5.5 cm
, asymmetric, apex acuminate, margin subentire, serrate from the middle part upward to the apex, adaxial surface dark green with brownish veins, abaxial surface pale green, veins reddish to brownish; venation palmate-pinnate, primary veins 5–6, actinodromous, secondary veins craspedodromous.Inflorescence protogynous; female inflorescence solitary, one node basal to male inflorescence or further separated, peduncle
3−5 mm
long, reddish-green, glabrous, bracteoles minute, hairlike, persistent; upper distal that bearing male inflorescence paniculate, composed of up to 4 simple monochasium with 4–7 flowers, peduncle
5–8 mm
long, glabrous; bracts stipule-like, persistent, ovate, ca. 4 ×
1.5 mm
, translucent, midrib slightly prominent, pale green, glabrous, apex acuminate and narrowed into bristle ca.
1 mm
long; bracteoles persistent, minute. Staminate flower pedicel up to
7.5 mm
long, whitish-green, glabrous; tepals 2, broadly ovate, 4–6 ×
5–7 mm
, greenish-red or dull cream, glabrous, margin entire, apex rounded; androecium symmetric with 48–55 yellow stamens, filaments up to ca.
1 mm
long, fused at the base, anthers ca.
0.5 mm
long, dehiscing through unilaterally positioned slits ca. ½ as long as the anthers. Pistillate flowers: pedicels
10–13 mm
long, pale green, glabrous; ovary 3-locular, cylindrical, 16−18 ×
2−3 mm
(wings excluded), pale green, glabrous, placentae bilamellate, wings 3, subequal, base cuneate to rounded, apex subcuneate, widest point up to
7 mm
(
1
/
3
from the apex); tepals 5, glabrous, white tinged with pink and green, unequal, one smaller elliptic, 5−6 ×
2−3 mm
, the four larger ovate, 8–9 ×
4.5–6 mm
, margin entire, apex rounded; style ca.
4.5 mm
long, basally fused, 3-branched, each stylodium bifurcate in the stigmatic region, stigmatic surface a spirally twisted papillose band, orange. Fruit peduncle up to
5 mm
long; pedicels up to
15 mm
long, pendulous and recurved; seed-bearing part cylindrical, 16−19 ×
3−4 mm
(wings excluded), wing shape as for ovary, widest point up to ca.
8 mm
. Seeds barrel-shaped,
0.2–0.3 mm
long.
Distribution:
—Endemic to Borneo, so far only known from the
type
locality in the Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat Limestone Karst Ecosystem,
East Kalimantan Province
,
Indonesia
.
FIGURE 3.
Begonia sangkulirangensis
Ardi, Girm. & Randi.
A.
Habit
;
B.
Lamina abaxial surface;
C.
Stipule;
D.
Male inflorescence;
E.
Female and male inflorescence;
F.
Male flowers,
G.
Female flower;
H.
Fruit;
I.
Ovary cross section. Scale bars: A: 5 cm, B: 1 cm, C: 1 mm, D: 5 cm, E: 10 mm, F–G: 5 mm, H: 10 mm, I: 1 mm. Photo A: Mark Hughes; B‒I: Wisnu H. Ardi, from cultivated specimen
WI 684
.
Habitat:—
This species was found on a limestone cliff in a shallow cave in deep shade beneath scrubby karst vegetation. It was growing in thin dusty soil on a slightly damp mossy rock.
Etymology:—
The epithet refers to the name of Sangkulirang, the Limestone Karst Mountain Ecosystem where this species was found.
Provisional Conservation Status:—
Vulnerable (VU, D2). This species is only known from single collection from the Sangkulirang Mangkalihat Limestone Karst Ecosystem. The area does not yet have legal protected status, and there are clear signs of anthropogenic disturbance (oil palm plantations and mining) around the karst formations. As a karst micro-endemic it therefore is ‘prone to the effects of human activities or stochastic events within a very short time period in an uncertain future’ (
IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee 2019
). An ex-situ initiative has been started with plants being cultivated at Kebun Raya Bogor (Bogor Botanic Garden).
Notes:
—There are four other caulescent species in
B
. sect.
Petermannia
in Borneo with conspicuously peltate leaves:
B. amphioxus
Sands (1990: 81)
,
B. baramensis
Merrill (1928: 529)
B. layang-layang
Kiew (2001b: 272)
and
B. nothobaramensis
Joffre (2015: 35)
.
Begonia sangkulirangensis
is closest to
B. nothobaramensis
as discussed in the diagnosis above, and
B. baramensis
is a much larger plant, reaching up to
3 m
tall (
Kiew
et al.
2015
).
Begonia amphioxus
and
B. layang-layang
do not appear to be closely allied, both differing most obviously in their leaves which are acute at the base and tip.