| Original Botanical Description or Link to | Monoecious, perennial herb. Stem erect, to ca. 1.8 m tall, 3–8 mm in diameter, olive green to crimson, pubescent,
internodes 2–20 cm long, nodes slightly swollen. Stipules deciduous, light green, narrowly triangular-ovate, 12–22 ×
4–8 mm, keeled, pubescent on both sides, margin entire, apex mucronate or aristate. Petioles terete, 1–4 cm long, ca.
0.5 mm in diameter, olive to crimson, pubescent. Leaves obovately oblong, asymmetric, base oblique and cordate,
apex acute, margin irregularly dentate, 6–17 × 2–7 cm; adaxially olive green, dark green or crimson along veins,
sometimes with sparse, small, white spots between veins, pubescent; abaxially olive green, crimson on margin and
veins, pubescent; venation palmate, primary veins 7 or 8. Bracts deciduous, light green turning brown, triangular to
ovate, 8–10 × 8–10 mm, glabrous, margin entire. Inflorescence axillary, dichasium or cyme, bisexual, peduncle light
green to crimson, glabrous. Staminate flower: pedicel 8–16 mm long, glabrous; tepals 2, white, sometimes greenish
at apex, widely ovate, 6–9 × 8–10 mm, margin entire, apex rounded, abaxially sparsely pubescent, adaxial glabrous;
androecium zygomorphic; stamens 26–30, golden yellow; filaments ca. 1 mm, slightly fused at base; anthers obovate, ca. 1 mm long, equal or shorter than filaments, apex retuse. Pistillate flower: pedicel 12–16 mm long, glabrous;
tepals 2–3–4–5, white, obovate, 12–14 × 8–10 mm, margin entire, apex rounded, abaxially sparsely pubescent, adaxial
glabrous; ovary present or lacking, green, trigonous-elliptic, 8–10 × 6–8 mm (wings excluded), nearly glabrous, 3-
locular, placentation axile; 3-winged, wings reddish, equal; styles 3, golden yellow, ca. 3 mm long, apically 2-cleft;
stigmas in a spiral band. Capsule not observed.
Diagnostic characters:—The natural hybrid B. × kapangan is an intermediate between B. crispipila and B.
balangcodiae in its morphology (Table 3). Begonia × kapangan is similar to B. crispipila by the form of trichomes,
obovately oblong leaves, bract size, and bisexual inflorescences; however, it is distinguished from B. crispipila in its
sparse pubescence (vs. dense pubescence), white and larger tepals (vs. pink and smaller tepals), larger inflorescences
(vs. short inflorescences), and green ovaries (vs. pink ovaries). Moreover, B. × kapangan is similar to B. balangcodiae
in having compound cymose inflorescences, white tepals, and green ovaries, but it is different from B. balangcodiae in
its sparse pubescence (vs. glabrous), obovately oblong leaves (vs. lanceolate leaves), larger bracts (vs. smaller bracts),
and bisexual inflorescences (vs. unisexual inflorescences). |
