B. aurora

Culture

Original Botanical Description or Link to

Begonia aurora C.I Peng, Yan Liu & W.B.Xu, sp. nov. (Sect. Platycentrum) 極光秋海棠 (Figs. 3 and 4). Type: CHINA. Guangxi, Fangchenggang City, Fangcheng District, Nasuo Town, 21°41’39.6”N, 108°05’39.3”E, elev. 65 m, at base of a north-facing slope beside a streamlet, fruiting and fowering, 18 April, 2016, Ching-I Peng 24765 with Kuo-Fang Chung, Wei-Bin Xu, Chia-Lun Hsieh (holotype: IBK; isotypes: E, HAST144966, K, KUN, PE). Monoecious rhizomatous herb. Rhizomes creeping, to 10 cm or longer, 5−10 mm in diameter, internodes congested, up to 8 mm long, light green, densely villous. Stipules persistent, pale green, ovate, ca. 15 mm long, 6–7 mm wide, herbaceous, strongly keeled, densely velutinous along midrib abaxially, margin entire, apex aristate, arista ca. 7 mm long. Leaves alternate; petiole terete, pale green, 5−15 cm long, 3–5 mm thick, densely white villous; leaf blade asymmetric, oblique, widely ovate, 6−17 cm long, 4–12 cm wide, broader side 2.5–8.5 cm wide, basal lobes cordate, 1.8–6 cm long, apex acuminate, margin denticulate and densely white villous; leaves chartaceous, adaxially deep green to dark viridian, often embellished with lime green zone around midrib; venation reddish and impressed, densely covered by small raised cones between veins, giving the lamina a rugose appearance, each cone topped by a single white villous hair ca. 1.5 mm long; abaxially purplish red (rarely green), sometimes with a pale green zone along midrib, white villous on all veins; venation palmate, midrib distinct, with ca. 3 secondary veins on each side, tertiary veins reddish, percurrent or reticulate. Inforescences bisexual, axillary, dichasial cymes arising directly from rhizome, branched 2–4 times; peduncle pale green, 3–10 cm long, pilose; bracts pale green to pinkish, hyaline, thin chartaceous, those at basal node of inforescence ovate, 1–1.8 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, margin entire; bracts at summit of inforescence similar but smaller. Staminate fowers: pedicel 7–17 mm long, sparsely pilose, tepals 4, white, outer 2 widely obovate to suborbicular, 10–15 mm long, 10–12 mm wide, abaxially pilose, inner 2 elliptic to oblanceolate, ca. 11 mm long, 6 mm wide, apex obtuse to rounded; androecium actinomorphic, ca. 5 mm across; stamens yellow, ca. 90; flaments fused on a short stalk; anthers obovate, ca. 2 mm long, 2-locular, apex rounded, subequal to flaments. Pistillate fowers: pedicel ca. 11 mm long, sparsely pilose; tepals 5, white, ovate, 6–12 mm long, 6–9 mm wide, apex obtuse or rounded, outer 3 abaxially pilose; ovary pale green, body trigonous-ellipsoid, ca. 9 mm long, 3 mm thick (wings excluded), pilose; 3-winged, wings unequal, abaxial wing triangular or crescent-shaped, margin entire, ca. 3 mm high, apex rounded or slightly pointed at summit; 3-locular, placentation axile, bilamellate; styles 3, shortly fused at base, yellow, ca. 3.5 mm long, stigma spirally twisted. Capsules pendent, pedicel 10–16 mm long, tepals deciduous; body trigonous-ellipsoid, 8–12 mm long, 5–6 mm thick (wings excluded), greenish when fresh; abaxial wing 4–6 mm high, lateral wings 3–4 mm high. Distribution and ecology Begonia aurora is known only from the type locality where less than 50 plants were seen. Plants grow on a slope of a shaded gully in a mixed forest of broadleaved woods and bamboo plantation. Phenology Flowering from March to April, fruiting from April to June. Etymology Te species epithet refers to the lighter green patch around the midrib of the leaves resembling aurora, the polar lights.