| Original Botanical Description or Link to | Begonia zhuoyuniae C.I Peng, Yan Liu &
K.F.Chung, sp. nov. (Sect. Coelocentrum) 倬雲秋海棠
(Figs. 14 and 15).
Type: CHINA, Guangxi, Donglan County, ca. 6.6 km
S of Wuzhuan, 3.5 km S of Baxue Tun, on rocky slope
in shaded limestone cave, elev. ca. 400 m, 24°57’54”N,
107°18’53”E, plant collected on 18 December 2005, type
specimens (in fowers) pressed from plants cultivated in
the greenhouse, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Ching-I Peng
20737-A with Yan Liu, Shin-Ming Ku, Tsung-Han Tsai
(holotype: IBK; isotype: E, HAST-144991, K, KUN, PE).
Monoecious rhizomatous herb. Rhizomes creeping, slender, to 80 cm long, 2–6 mm across, internodes
5–25 mm long, purple red, pilose. Stipules persistent,
ovate, ca. 5 mm long, 5 mm wide, abaxially sparsely
red glandular-puberulent, slightly keeled, apex aristate,
arista 1 mm long, margin entire. Leaves alternate; petiole terete, 1.5–4.5 cm long, 2 mm across; leaf blade asymmetric, ovate to reniform, 2.5–5(–6.5) cm long, 2–4(–5.5)
cm wide, apex rounded or obtuse, base cordate, chartaceous, adaxially somewhat rugose, pale green or dark
green with purple red between veins, sparsely hirtellous
and punctate, abaxially red on veins and somewhat reddish, densely pilose to tomentose, margin crenulate and
ciliate. Inforescences axillary, arising directly from rhizome, cymes monochasial or dichasial, branched 1–3
times. Peduncle 4.5–10.5 cm long, 1.5 mm across, pilose; bracts persistent, elliptic, 4–6 mm long, 2 mm wide,
light green, nearly glabrous, margin ciliate. Staminate
fower: pedicel 1.2–1.7 cm, glandular-pilose, tepals 4,
outer 2 ovate, suborbicular or elliptic, ca. 1.2–2 cm long,
1–1.4 cm wide, pink, abaxially pilose, margin sparsely
ciliate, inner 2 elliptic or oblanceolate, 1.3–1.5 cm long,
ca. 4 mm wide, pinkish white; androecium zygomorphic,
ca. 4 mm across, stamens 16–28, anthers oblong-obvoid,
2-locular, connective apex emarginate. Pistillate fower:
pedicel ca. 1.1 cm long, glandular-pilose, tepals 3, outer 2
ovate to suborbicular, 9 mm long, 8 mm wide, pink, margin sparsely ciliate, inner 1 obovate, 7 mm long, 3 mm
wide, pinkish white, ovary trigonous-ellipsoid, 5–10 mm
long, ca. 3 mm thick (wings excluded), sparsely glandular-pilose, 3-winged; wings sub-equal, abaxial wing 3 mm
high, lateral wings ca. 2 mm high, pinkish white; styles 3,
1.5–4 mm long, free, stigma apically C-shaped. Capsules
trigonous-ellipsoid, ca. 8 mm long, ca. 4 mm thick (wings
excluded); abaxial wing crescent-shaped, ca. 4 mm high.
Chromosome cytology
Somatic chromosomes of Begonia zhuoyuniae at metaphase were counted as 2n=30 (Fig. 9b), identical to the
number reported by Han et al. (2018) as well as majority
of species of Sect. Coelocentrum (Chung et al. 2014). Te
length of chromosomes varied from ca. 0.8 to 1.3 µm.
Te centromere positions of several small chromosomes
could not be determined. However, most chromosomes
were metacentric. Satellites were not observed.
Distribution and ecology
Known only from two limestone caves in Donglan
County and Bama Yao Autonomous County, northwestern Guangxi.
Phenology
Flowering from February to May; fruiting from April to
July.
Etymology
Te specifc epithet honors the visionary Dr. Cecilia Koo
Yan Zhuo-yun (辜嚴倬雲), founder of Dr. Cecilia Koo
Botanic Conservation Center (KBCC) that aims to conserve tropical and subtropical plants and maintain earth’s
rich biodiversity |
