B. merrilliana

Culture

Comments

Provisional IUCN category: Following the Red List criteria of the IUCN (2012), we consider Begonia merrilliana to belong to the vulnerable category under criterion D2 (population with a very restricted area of occupancy). The species is restricted to Antique Province on Panay, and forest cover in the region (and hence suitable habitat) is very low.

Endangered Status

Vulnerable D2

Original Botanical Description or Link to

Monoecious rhizomatous herb. Rhizome pale olive green to reddish, long creeping, to 30 cm or longer, 0.4–0.6 cm thick, internodes 0.8–5 cm long, densely appressed pink villous. Stipules persistent, pale yellowish-green or reddish, triangular or narrowly triangular, 8–14 mm long, 3–8 mm wide, herbaceous, strongly keeled, sparsely velutinous, margin entire, apex aristate, arista 3.5–6 mm long. Leaves alternate, distant, petiole terete, pale red, (3.5–) 9–14 cm long, 3.5–5 mm thick, densely appressed pink villous; leaf blade asymmetric, oblique, ovate, 7.5–12.5 cm long, 4–8 cm wide, broad side 3.5–5.8 cm wide, basal lobes cordate, 2–5 cm long, apex attenuate to caudate, margin irregularly angular and undulate, ciliate, hairs pinkish; leaves thickly chartaceous to succulent, adaxially green, dark green or with a brown band along veins, sometimes variegated with grayish-green spots between major veins; surface very sparsely velutinous or subglabrous; abaxially pale green or reddish, pinkish velutinous on all veins; venation palmate with ca. 7 veins, midrib distinct, with ca. 2 secondary veins on each side, other primary veins branching dichotomously, tertiary veins reticulate. Inflorescences an axillary, bisexual and protandrous, dichasial cyme 8–23 cm long, peduncle 6.5–17 cm long, dichasial cymes arising directly from rhizome, branched ca. 5 times, erect or ascending, pinkish, reddish villous. Bracts pale yellowish-green, hyaline, deciduous, glabrous or subglabrous, those at basal node of inflorescence ovate to widely ovate, boat-shaped, ca. 8 mm long, 4 mm wide, apex obtuse, margin entire or very sparsely velutinous; bracts at distal part of inflorescence similar but smaller. Staminate flower: pedicel 1 cm long, glabrous, tepals 4, white to pinkish, glabrous, outer 2 widely ovate or obovate to suborbicular, 0.7–1.1 cm long, 0.8–1 cm wide, inner 2 obovate or oblanceolate, 0.6–1.4 cm long, 0.4–0.7 cm wide, apex truncate to retuse; androecium actinomorphic, ca. 0.3 cm across; stamens yellow, 38–62; filaments shortly fused at base; anthers obovate, ca. 0.8 mm long, apex rounded to retuse, subequal to filaments. Pistillate flower: pedicel 0.7–1.4 cm long, glabrous, with sparse glands; ovary yellowish green to reddish, body trigonous-ellipsoid, ca. 5 mm long, 3.5 mm thick (wings excluded), glabrous, with sparse sessile glands; 3-winged, subequal, wings ca. 6 mm long, triangular or so, apex obtuse to acute, 1–4 mm wide, margin entire; ovary 3-locular, placenta bilamellate; tepals 4, white to pinkish, glabrous, outer 2 obovate, widely ovate or obovate, 0.6–1 cm long, 0.6–0.9 cm wide, inner 2 oblanceolate to widely obovate, 1–1.2 cm long, 0.6–0.7 cm wide, apex truncate to retuse; styles 3, shortly fused at base, yellow, ca. 0.35 cm long, stigma spirally twisted. Capsule pendent, pedicel 1–1.9 cm long, tepals deciduous; body trigonous-ellipsoid, ca. 6 mm long, 4 mm across (wings excluded), greenish or reddish when fresh; wings subequal, ca. 7 mm long, 2–6 mm wide. Somatic chromosome number, 2n = 28.