Species

B. montaniformis

Photos

5 photos

Identity

Genus: Begonia
Name: B. montaniformis
Author: C.-I Peng, C. W. Lin & H. Q. Nguyen, Botanical Studies 2015, 56:9
Publication Date: 2015
Date of Origin: 2006
Place: Thanh Hoa Province, Ba Thuoc District, Co Lung Municipality, Eo Dieu village.
Habitat: On shady cliff, in primary evergreen seasonal broad-leaved closed lowland forest on crystalline marble-like highly eroded limestone, very steep rocky slopes and cliffs at 450–600 m elevation.
Country: N Vietnam
Region: Asia
Section: Coelocentrum
Chr 2n: 30
Plant Type: Rhizomatous
Synonyms and Comments: Etymology: after the resemblance between karst hills landscape and the upper leaf surface
Reference: Ching-I Peng1, Che-Wei Lin, Hsun-An Yang, Yoshiko Kono and Hieu Quang Nguyen, Six new species of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from limestone areas in Northern Vietnam: Botanical Studies 2015, 56:9
Article References: Hughes M. et al., Asian Begonia 213-4, 2018
Photo References: Hughes M. et al., Asian Begonia 213-4, 2018

Plant

Description: TYPE: North VIETNAM. Thanh Hoa Prov., Ba Thuoc Distr., Co Lung Municipality, Eo Dieu village. Primary evergreen seasonal broad-leaved closed lowland forest on crystalline marble-like highly eroded limestone, very steep rocky slopes and cliffs of S exposition at elev. 450–600 m. Lithophytic herb on shady cliff. Introduced from home garden plants in Hanoi for cultivation in Academia Sinica. Type specimen pressed from the greenhouse plant on 5 June 2006. Ching-I Peng 24609 (holotype: HAST; isotype: HN) (Figures 12 and and 13). Herbs, monoecious, perennial, rhizomatous. Rhizome stout, creeping, to 30 cm long, 1–2.3 cm thick, internodes 0.5–1.7 cm long, villous near the petiole insertion. Stipules pale green to pinkish, ovate-triangular, 0.7–1.4 cm long, 0.6–1.3 cm wide, strongly keeled, abaxially hairy along midrib, margin velutinous, apex aristate, arista ca. 0.2 cm long. Petiole red to greenish-purple, terete, 7–20 cm long, 0.4–0.7 cm thick, densely white villous. Leaves alternate, blade asymmetric, ovate to widely ovate, 11.5–19 cm long, 8–13.5 cm wide, broad side 6–8 cm wide, apex acuminate to acute, base strongly oblique-cordate, margin repand to shallowly denticulate and ciliate, thickly chartaceous to succulent, adaxially blackish-malachite green, purplish-olive or dark bluish-brown, with silvery green zone along primary and secondary veins, surface bullate, bulla conical, 0.4–0.8 (−1) cm high, 0.5–0.8 cm across, tipped by 2–4 (−6) peak-like hispidulous protrusions, abaxially pale green, reddish on hollow bullate region, densely brownish-white tomentose on veins; venation palmate with 7–9 primary veins, midrib distinct, 2–4 secondary veins on each side, tertiary veins percurrent or reticulate, sometimes spiderweb-like near petiole attachment, minor veins reticulate. Inflorescences axillary, arising directly from rhizome, dichasial cymes branching 3–8 times; peduncle 11–28 cm long, tomentose to subglabrous; bracts and bracteoles caducous, yellowish-green to reddish, bracts ovate, ca. 1 cm long, 0. 5 cm wide, boat-shaped, abaxially sparsely velutinous along midrib, margin densely tomentose, bracteoles similar to bracts but gradually smaller on upper part of the inflorescence. Staminate flower: pedicel 1.1–2 cm long, tepals 4, outer 2 broadly ovate to obovate-orbicular, 7–12 mm long, 6–10 mm wide, abaxially yellowish-green to reddish, sparsely velutinous, adaxially yellowish to pinkish-green, inner 2 greenish, elliptic, 6–8 mm long, 3–5 mm wide; androecium sub-actinomorphic, spherical, ca. 5 mm across; stamens 55–90; anthers yellow, slightly compressed, obovate, ca. 1 mm long, apex obtuse, filaments fused at base into a column. Pistillate flower: pedicel 1.4–2 cm long, tepals 3, outer 2 suborbicular or broadly ovate, abaxially reddish-green, adaxially yellowish-greenish, 8–12 mm long, 9–13 mm wide, inner 1 yellowish-greenish, elliptic, 5–8 mm long, 2.5–4.5 mm wide; ovary reddish-green, trigonous-ellipsoid, 5–9 mm long, ca. 3 mm thick (wings excluded), sparsely sessile-glandular, 3-winged, wings unequal, reddish-green, lateral wings 2–3 mm wide, abaxial wing crescent-shaped, 3–8 mm wide; styles 3, fused at base, yellow or greenish, ca. 4 mm long, stigma spirally twisted. Capsule trigonous-ellipsoid, 7–11 mm long, 3–4 mm thick (wings excluded), greenish or reddish when fresh; wings unequal, lateral wings 2–4 mm wide, abaxial wing crescent-shaped, 4–9 mm wide. Somatic chromosome number, 2n = 30, 31, 32, 33. Additional specimens examined VIETNAM, Thanh Hoa Prov., Ba Thuoc Distr., Co Lung Municipality, Eo Dieu village. Primary evergreen seasonal broadleaved and coniferous submontane forest on crystalline marble-like highly eroded limestone, very steep upper slopes and tops of limestone rocky ridge at elev. 800–850 m. Lithophyte. Introduced from home garden plants in Hanoi for cultivation in Academia Sinica. Specimens pressed from greenhouse plants on 1 April 2013, Ching-I Peng 24610 (HAST); Khuyn village. Primary evergreen seasonal broadleaved lowland forest on crystalline marble-like highly eroded limestone, N slopes of limestone ridge at elev. 400–460 m. Lithophyte on vertical cliff. Occasional. Introduced from home garden plants in Hanoi for cultivation in Academia Sinica. Specimens pressed from greenhouse plants on 22 April 2014, Ching-I Peng 24613 (HAST). Distribution and ecology Lithophytic herb on shady cliff. Endemic to Ba Thuoc Dist, Thanh Hoa Province, Northern Vietnam (Figure 3), known only from the type locality. In primary evergreen seasonal broad-leaved closed lowland forest on crystalline marble-like highly eroded limestone, very steep rocky slopes and cliffs at 450–600 m elevation. Etymology The specific epithet refers to the leaf surface with dense conic bullae, which is reminiscent of the peak clusters in Sino-Vietnamese limestone karst landform. Notes Begonia montaniformis resembles B. ferox C.-I Peng & Yan Liu, differing in the stipule margin tomentose (vs. entire), veins silvery (vs. dark green), each bullae 2–4-tipped (vs. 1-tipped) and shortly hispidulous (vs. long velutinous), staminate flower yellowish-green (vs. whitish). The new species is also similar to B. nahangensis Aver. & H. Q. Nguyen, another bullate-leaved species recently documented from north Vietnam (Averyanov & Nguyen [2012]), differing in the leaves widely ovate to widely elliptic (vs. broadly oblique-ovate or oblique-reniform), apex caudate (vs. obtuse) and each conic bullae 2–4-tipped (vs. 1-tipped).
Stem Type: Rhizome
Stem Habit: stout, creeping, to 30 cm long, 1–2.3 cm thick
Other Features: Aneuploid chromosome numbers in different individuals: 30, 31, 32, 33
Internodal Distance: 0.5–1.7 cm long, villous near the petiole insertion

Lineage

1 descendants

Parents

No parentage recorded.

Etymology: after the resemblance between karst hills landscape and the upper leaf surface

Descendants

1 recorded children

As female parent

B. ‘Avery’s Mt. Everest’

Male parent: B. melanobullata

As male parent

No children recorded with this plant as the male parent.

Culture

Original Botanical Description or Link to: http://www.as-botanicalstudies.com/content/56/1/9: