Begonia L. 2022
Creators: name: Moonlight, Peter
name: Fuentes, Alfredo F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Cucurbitales
Begoniaceae
Begonia

description: Key to the sections of Bolivian Begonia species   
1a. Plant tuberous ____________________________________________________________________ 2  
1b. Plant lacking a tuber, lower stem rarely swollen and resembling a tuber _____________ 4  
 2a. Plant caulescent, with an aerial stem _____________________ Begonia sect. Australes (1)   
2b. Plant acaulescent, lacking an aerial stem __________________________________________ 3  
 3a. Staminate flower with 4 tepals, styles bifid __________________ Unplaced to section (10)   
 3b. Staminate flower with> 5 tepals, styles multifid __________ Begonia sect. Eupetalum (4)   
 4a. Plants vines, rooting at the nodes; leaves 3-veined to the base Begonia sect. Wagneria (9)   
4b. Plants terrestrial herbs, rarely rooting at the lower nodes; leaves with pinnate, palmatepinnate or palmate venation but never 3-veined from the base ______________________ 5  
5a. Leaf venation pinnate _____________________________________________________________ 6  
5b. Leaf venation palmate-pinnateor palmate _________________________________________ 7  
 6a. Inflorescence a symmetrical cyme ____________________ Begonia sect. Ruizopavonia (8)   
 6b. Inflorescence an asymmetrical cyme ________________ Begonia sect. Cyathocnemis (2)   
7a. Leaf margins lobed ________________________________________________________________ 8  
7b. Leaf margins lacking lobes ________________________________________________________ 9  
 8a. Leaves> 30 × 25 cm, glabrous or with a soft indumentum; inflorescences with <75 flowers _______________________________________________ Begonia sect. Knesebeckia (6)   
 8b. Leaves> 30 × 30 cm, with an abrasive indumentum; inflorescences with> 100 flowers Begonia sect. Pritzelia (7)   
 9a. Plantsshort-livedherbs, generally reaching maturity at <50 cm high; venation palmate, lacking a clear primary vein ______________________________ Begonia sect. Ephemera (3)   
9b. Plants perrenials, generally reaching maturity at> 50 cm high; leaf venationpalmatepinnate or pinnate, with a clear primary vein _______________________________________ 10  
 10a. Styles bifid __________________________________________ Begonia sect. Cyathocnemis (2)   
 10b. Styles multifid __________________________________________ Begonia sect. Hydristyles (5)    Key to Bolivian Begonia species   
1a. Plant tuberous or rhizomatous _____________________________________________________ 2  
1b. Plant lacking a tuber or rhizome __________________________________________________ 21  
2a. Plant rhizomatous _________________________________________________________________ 3  
2b. Plants tuberous ___________________________________________________________________ 5  
 3a. Petiole with a collar of hairs where the petiole joins the leaf blade B. leathermaniae (31)   
3b. Petiole glabrous where the petiole joins the leaf blade ______________________________ 4  
 4a. Ovary and fruit with one long wing and tworib-likewings; leaf laminae peltate (in Bolivia) ____________________________________________________________ B. acerifolia (30)   
 4b. Ovary and fruit with 3 subequal wings; leaf laminae basifixed or rarely peltate B. wollnyi (32)   
5a. Plant caulescent, with an aerial stem ______________________________________________ 6  
5b. Plant acaulescent, lacking an aerial stem _________________________________________ 18  
 6a. Leaf blade symmetrical, reniform to orbicular, apex indistinct __________ B. veitchii (10)   
6b. Leaf blade asymmetrical, lanceolate to ovate, rarely reniform, apex distinct, acute to acuminate ________________________________________________________________________ 7  
 7a. Leaf blades lanceolate; anthers united into a 4–25 mm long column __ B. boliviensis (1)   
7b. Leaf blades ovate, broadly ovate, orbicular or reniform; anthers free or united only at the base __________________________________________________________________________ 8  
8a. Tepals yellow _____________________________________________________________________ 9  
8b. Tepals white, pink, orange or red __________________________________________________ 14  
9a. Apex of the inner tepals on the staminate flower slightly notched __________________ 10  
9b. Apex of the inner tepals on the staminate flower not notched ______________________ 11  
 10a. Flowers vivid golden yellow; leaf upper surface dark green with pale green veins B. chrysantha (2)   
 10b. Flowers pale yellow; leaf upper surface concolorous green _________ B. micranthera (7)   
 11a. Indumentum glandular _______________________________ B. heliantha (Excluded names)   
11b. Indumentum non-glandular or lacking _____________________________________________ 12  
 12a. Tepals spreading ______________________________________________________ B. pearcei (8)   
12b. Tepals projecting forwards _______________________________________________________ 13  
 13a. Stem and petioles glabrous _______________________________________ B. germaineana (4)   
 13b. Stem and petioles tomentose __________________________________________ B. krystofii (6)   
14a. Filaments attached to the anthers above their bases ______________________________ 15  
14b. Filaments attached to the base of the anthers _____________________________________ 16  
 15a. Tepal margins toothed; leaf margins irregularly dentate ________________ B. herrerae (5)   
 15b. Tepal margins entire; leaf margins crenate _______________________ B. weddelliana (11)   
 16a. Tepals cinnabar red _______________________________________________ B. cinnabarina (3)   
16b. Tepals white or pink ______________________________________________________________ 17  
 17a. Bract margins denticulate, ciliate __________________________________ B. phantasma (9)   
 17b. Bract margins entire, aciliate _______________________________________ B. micranthera (7)   
 18a. Leaf blades peltate _______________________________________________ Begonia sp. 1 (43)   
18b. Leaf blades basifixed _____________________________________________________________ 19  
19a. Leaf upper surface concolorous green; staminate flowers with> 5 tepals, styles multifid __________________________________________________________________________ 20  
 19b. Leaf upper surface dark green, veins vivid green; staminate flowers with 4 tepals, styles bifid ____________________________________________________________ B. cremnophila (42)   
 20a. Pistillate flower with paired bracteoles; tepals on the staminate flower> 13 mm wide B. marinae (20)   
 20b. Pistillate flower lacking bracteoles; tepals on the staminate flower <11 mm wide B. pleiopetala (21)   
21a. Leaves margins lobed ____________________________________________________________ 22  
21b. Leaves margins lacking lobes ____________________________________________________ 26  
 22a. Leaves> 30 × 30 cm, with an abrasive indumentum; inflorescences with> 100 flowers B. parviflora (33)   
22b. Leaves <30 × 25 cm, glabrous or with a soft indumentum; inflorescences with <75 flowers __________________________________________________________________________ 23  
 23a. Stem green, succulent throughout; pistillate flowers with 2 tepals; largest fruit wing notched ___________________________________________________________ B. lophoptera (15)   
23b. Stem thickened, appearing woody at least at the base; pistillate flowers with 3 tepals; largest fruit wing not notched _____________________________________________________ 24  
 24a. Petiole apex with a ring of squamose hairs _____________________ B. leathermaniae (31)   
24b. Petiole apex lacking a ring of squamose hairs _____________________________________ 25  
 25a. Leaf laminae basifixed or rarely peltate; ovary and fruit with three 3 subequal wings B. wollnyi (32)   
 25b. Leaf laminae peltate (in Bolivia); ovary and fruit with one long wing and tworib-like wings ______________________________________________________________ B. acerifolia (30)   
 26a. Plant a climbing herb, rooting at the nodes; leaves 3-veined from base __ B. glabra (41)   
26b. Plant a terrestrial to semi-scandent herb, not rooting from the nodes; leaves variously pinnate, palmate-pinnate or palmate but never 3-veined from the base _____________ 27  
27a. Leaf veins pinnate ________________________________________________________________ 28  
27b. Leaf veins palmate or palmate-pinnate ____________________________________________ 33  
28a. Stems sparsely to densely tomentose or hispid ___________________________________ 29  
28b. Stems glabrous __________________________________________________________________ 32  
 29a. Stipules persistent, transversely semi-orbicular or transversely ovate ____ B. bangii (34)   
29b. Stipules deciduous or persistent, triangular _______________________________________ 30  
 30a. Leaf base rounded _________________________________________________ B. leptostyla (37)   
30b. Leaf base obliquely cordate ______________________________________________________ 31  
 31a. Stipules oblong-ovate; staminate tepals c. 7.5 mm long _______________ B. varistyla (40)   
 31b. Stipules elliptic; staminate tepals c. 11 mm long _____________________ B. buchtienii (35)   
 32a. Leaves with 8–12 veins on the broad side of the lamina; pistillate flowers with 2 tepals B. peruviana (39)   
 32b. Leaves with 3–6 veins on the broad side of the lamina; pistillate flowers with 5 tepals B. galea (14)   
33a. Pistillate flowers with 2 tepals ____________________________________________________ 34  
33b. Pistillate flowers with 5 (or rarely 4) tepals ________________________________________ 35  
 34a. Leaves with a distinct apex and a clear primary vein; largest fruit wing unnotched _____ B. bracteosa (13)   
 34b. Leaf apices indistinct, without a clear, primary vein; largest fruit wing notched B. lophoptera (15)   
35a. Plant generally reaching maturity at <50 cm tall; leaf venation palmate, lacking a clear primary vein; usually rooting from the lower nodes ________________________________ 36  
35b. Plant generally reaching maturity at> 50 cm tall; leaf venationpalmate-pinnateor pinnate, with a clear primary vein; never rooting from the lower nodes _____________ 39  
 36a. Plant glabrous; leaf bases cucullate _________________________________ B. cucullata (17)   
36b. Plant variously pubescent; leaf bases truncate to cordate __________________________ 37  
 37a. Leaf blades reniform __________________________________________ B. alchemilloides (16)   
37b. Leaf blades transversely ovate to deltate __________________________________________ 38  
 38a. Leaves with 3–7 veins from the base; inner tepals of the staminate flowers elliptic; stamens 12–20 ______________________________________________________ B. fischeri (18)   
 38b. Leaves with 7–9 veins from the base; inner tepals of the staminate flowers oblanceolate; stamens 8–12 ______________________________________ B. subvillosa (19)   
39a. Styles bifid _______________________________________________________________________ 40  
39b. Styles mutifid ____________________________________________________________________ 41  
 40a. Leaf blades lanceolate; stipules persistent ____________________________ B. comata (36)   
 40b. Leaf blades transversely ovate; stipules deciduous _____________ B. alto-peruviana (12)   
 41a. Leaf margins double-dentate ____________________________________ B. unduavensis (28)   
41b. Leaf margins entire, serrulate, denticulate or crenulate ____________________________ 42  
42a. Leaf laminae lanceolate to oblanceolate __________________________________________ 43  
42b. Leaf laminae transversely ovate __________________________________________________ 44  
 43a. Stipule margins aciliate; inflorescences either unisexual or with staminate and pistillate flowers open at different times, bearing up to 4 flowers ____________ B. subcaudata (27)   
 43b. Stipule margins long-ciliate; inflorescences with staminate and pistillate flowers open simultaneously, bearing up to 16 flowers _________________________ B. oblanceolata (38)   
44a. Stipules persistent, retained on the stem after the leaves have been dropped _______ 45  
44b. Stipules early deciduous, dropped before the leaf is mature ________________________ 46  
 45a. Leaves with 2–5 veins from the base; leaf margins entire to serrulate; tepals white to pink ______________________________________________________________ B. juntasensis (25)   
 45b. Leaves with 7–12 veins from the base; leaf margins serrate; tepals red B. santarosensis (26)   
46a. Plant sparsely to densely stellate-haired or lepidote-scaled ________________________ 47  
46b. Plant glabrous or rarely sparsely pubescent, but never with stellate hairs or lepidote scales ___________________________________________________________________________ 48  
 47a. Plant densely stellate haired ___________________________________________ B. andina (22)   
 47b. Plant sparsely to densely lepidote scaled _________________________ B. unilateralis (29)   
 48a. Fruit wings subequal, the largest wing with straight edges and widest where it joins the ovary _______________________________________________________________ B. bridgesii (23)   
 48b. Fruit wings unequal, the largest wing with rounded edges and widest halfway along its length ______________________________________________________________ B. fissistyla (24)
description: Published as part of Moonlight, Peter & Fuentes, Alfredo F., 2022, AN UPDATED CHECKLIST AND KEY TO THE SPECIES OF BOLIVIAN BEGONIA, INCLUDING ONE NEW SPECIES, pp. 1-66 in Edinburgh Journal of Botany 79 (407) on pages 5-9, DOI: 10.24823/EJB.2022.407, http://zenodo.org/record/10553332