Begonia tessaricarpa C.B.Clarke, 1879

Camfield, Rebecca & Hughes, Mark, 2018, A revision and one new species of Begonia L. (Begoniaceae, Cucurbitales) in Northeast India, European Journal of Taxonomy 396, pp. 1-116 : 93-94

Begonia tessaricarpa C.B.Clarke [sect. Sphenanthera ]

Fig. 59

The Flora of British India 2: 636 ( Clarke 1879). – Type: India, East Bengal, Assam, Griffith 2586 (lecto-: K000251117, here designated).

Citations in other publications

Clarke (1881: 115), Ambrish & Amadudin (2006: 997), Uddin (2007: 595), Morris (2009d: 88).

Other material

INDIA: Arunachal-Pradesh: Ambrish 17304 ( CAL n.v.); Tuting to Ningging, Choudhery 18111 ( ARUN n.v.). Assam: Amadudin 107306 ( CAL n.v.).

Description

Rhizomatous, dioecious herb, 15–30 cm high. Rhizome: unseen. Stipules: ovate, 2.5–8 × 2–5 mm, puberulous, persistent. Leaves: petiole 14 –31 cm long, tomentose denser near leaf; lamina ovate, basifixed, base cordate with lobes not overlapping, 7–10.5 × 4–8 cm,upper surface dark green, puberulous, underside pale green, tomentose on veins mostly; margin entire-repand, occasionally with teeth at end of veins, with sparse hairs or glabrous; apex acute. Inflorescence: cymose, terminal, few; peduncle puberulous; male branching once, 2–7 cm long, 2 male flowers; female branching once, 2–3 cm long, 2 female flowers; bracts lanceolate, 5 × 2 mm, glabrous, persistent. Male flower: pedicel 10–17 mm long, tomentose; tepals 4; outer tepals obovate, 5–6 × 3–4 mm, white to pink, puberulous hairs on reverse, entire; inner tepals obovate-elliptic, 5–6 × 2–3 mm, white to pink, glabrous; androecium with 12–20 stamens, symmetric; filaments 1 mm long, free; anther oblong elliptic, 2–3 mm long, dehiscing through slits longer than half the length of the anther, not hooded, connective extended. Female flower: pedicel 7–12 mm long, tomentose; bracteoles absent; tepals 4–5, white to pink, puberulous on reverse; ovary 4-locular, placentae bifid; capsule pyramidal, 6 × 5.5 mm, tomentose, without wings, with four horn-like projections; styles 4, deeply forked once and twisted twice, deciduous or persistent. Fruit: on stout pedicel; capsule pyramidal, 10 –11 × 9–11 mm, sparsely tomentose to glabrous.

Distribution and phenology

Endemic to north Assam and Arunachal-Pradesh. Flowering and fruiting: November to February.

Conservation status

Data Deficient. Begonia tessaricarpa is a poorly understood species.

Remarks

Only known reliably from the rather poor type, which has a partially open male flower bud and a fragment of a female flower. The description is augmented from the protologue. The type has three separate inflorescences, 2 male and 1 female, possibly from the same plant but most likely from the same colony; the species could potentially be dioecious. Begonia tessaricarpa is extremely similar to B. handelii var. prostrata and we suggest the possibility it may be synonymous with it.

The photograph in Dash (2010) labelled as B. tessaricarpa is B. handelii var. handelii as it has the characteristically large flowers of that species. The plant photographed in Ambrish & Amadudin (2006) does indeed resemble B. tessaricarpa , however, the photograph lacks detail and is indistinguishable from B. handellii var. prostrata . The determination as B. tessaricarpa has also been doubted by Morris (2009d). To confirm the delimitation and concept of B. tessaricarpa , further material from the type locality is needed, however, the exact location of this is unknown. The lack of an itinerary number suggests it was collected prior to 1837, when Griffith started using itinerary numbers for his collections. Griffith spent most of 1836 in Assam (referring to the whole region), and in his journal he mentions collecting 6 species of Begonia from the Mishmi Hills during November, and also mentions collecting Begonia in late February 1837 in the Patkai range.

Figures

Fig. 59. Map showing the location of B. tessaricarpa C.B.Clarke specimens.