Begonia ludwigii and B. parcifolia (Begoniaceae) two new records to the Peruvian flora

Begonia ludwigii Irmscher y B. parcifolia C. DC. se registran para la flora peruana, donde ocurren dentro de la zona biodiversa Amotape-Huancabamba. Ambas especies fueron originalmente consideradas como endémicas de Ecuador. Dentro de Perú, B. ludwigii es reportada de cuatro poblaciones en los Departamentos de Piura, Lambayeque y Cajamarca, mientras que B. parcifolia es reportada de tres poblaciones en los Departamentos de Tumbes, Piura y Cajamarca. Se proporcionan descripciones de B. ludwigii y B. parcifolia y se mapean y discuten sus distribuciones. También se presenta información sobre su taxonomía y estado de conservación.Begonia ludwigii Irmscher and B. parcifolia C. DC. are newly recorded for the Peruvian flora, where they occur within the biodiverse Amotape-Huancabamba zone. Both species were originally considered to be endemic to Ecuador. Within Peru, B. ludwigii is reported from four populations in the Departments of Piura, Lambayeque and Cajamarca, while B. parcifolia is reported from three populations in the Departments of Tumbes, Piura and Cajamarca. Descriptions of B. ludwigii and B. parcifolia are provided and their distributions mapped and discussed. Information about their taxonomy and conservation status are also presented

Emended Circumscription of Begonia silletensis (Begoniaceae) and Description of a New Subspecies from Yunnan, China

Volume: 12Start Page: 133End Page: 13

Begonia hahiepiana, a New Species of Begonia Section Sphenanthera (Begoniaceae) from Vietnam

Volume: 16Start Page: 374End Page: 37

Patrones de diversificación a escala continental en un género megadiverso: la biogeografía de la begonia neotropical

El origen de la hiperdiversidad neotropical es una de las preguntas más intrigantes en la biogeografía moderna y se responde mejor a través de la investigación de géneros grandes, distribuidos pantropicalmente, lo que permite la comparación de clados estrechamente relacionados en diferentes regiones. Producimos una filogenia fechada y reconstruimos rangos ancestrales del megadiverso género Begonia centrado en los Andes para discernir su historia de dispersión a lo largo del Neotrópico y los correlatos de la evolución del rango. Se estimaron las tasas de diversificación neotropical y paleotropical.The origin of Neotropical hyperdiversity is one of the most intriguing questions in modern biogeography and is best answered through the investigation of large, pantropically distributed genera, allowing the comparison of closely related clades in different regions. We produced a dated phylogeny and reconstructed ancestral ranges of the megadiverse, Andean?centred genus Begonia to discern its dispersal history throughout the Neotropics and correlates of range evolution. Neotropical and Palaeotropical diversification rates were estimated

Phylogenetic relationships of Asian Begonia, with an emphasis on the evolution of rain-ballist and animal dispersal mechanisms in sections Platycentrum, Sphenanthera and Leprosae

While most Begonia species have a similar fruit morphology that shows adaptations to wind dispersal, a few species have atypical fruits and are adapted to either animal or rain dispersal. Such differences in fruit morphology have traditionally been emphasized in sectional classifications of Begonia and some of the currently recognized sections can only be distinguished using ovary and fruit characteristics. We evaluated the monophyly and evolution of three Asian sections with atypical fruit morphologies: Platycentrum, Sphenanthera, and Leprosae, along with members of nine other Asian sections with fruit morphologies typical of wind dispersed Begonia. A parsimony analysis of nrDNA ITS/ 5.8S sequence data of 46 Asian Begonia species suggests that the members of section Platycentrum, which have fruit morphologies indicative of rain dispersal, evolved from wind dispersed Asian taxa following the colonization of wetter habitats. From within this rain dispersed group, species of section Sphenanthera with fleshy, animal dispersed fruits subsequently evolved on multiple occasions. Members of section Leprosae, which have fleshy fruit, evolved on two separate occasions, in one case independently of the members of the sections Platycentrum and Sphenanthera. As currently recognized, sections Platycentrum, Sphenanthera and Leprosae are polyphyletic. © Copyright 2006 by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists

Phylogenetic position and biogeography of Hillebrandia sandwicensis (Begoniaceae): A rare Hawaiian relict

The Begoniaceae consist of two genera, Begonia, with approximately 1400 species that are widely distributed in the tropics, and Hillebrandia, with one species that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and the only member of the family native to those islands. To help explain the history of Hillebrandia on the Hawaiian Archipelago, phylogenetic relationships of the Begoniaceae and the Cucurbitales were inferred using sequence data from 18S, rbcL, and ITS, and the minimal age of both Begonia and the Begoniaceae were indirectly estimated. The analyses strongly support the placement of Hillebrandia as the sister group to the rest of the Begoniaceae and indicate that the Hillebrandia lineage is at least 51-65 million years old, an age that predates the current Hawaiian Islands by about 20 million years. Evidence that Hillebrandia sandwicensis has survived on the Hawaiian Archipelago by island hopping from older, now denuded islands to younger, more mountainous islands is presented. Various scenarios for the origin of ancestor to Hillebrandia are considered. The geographic origin of source populations unfortunately remains obscure; however, we suggest a boreotropic or a Malesian-Pacific origin is most likely. Hillebrandia represents the first example in the well-studied Hawaiian flora of a relict genus

Dividing and conquering the fastest-growing genus: Towards a natural sectional classification of the mega-diverse genus Begonia (Begoniaceae)

The pantropical genus Begonia is the sixth-largest genus of flowering plants, including 1870 species. The sections of Begonia are used frequently as analogues to genera in other families but, despite their taxonomic utility, few of the current sections have been examined in the light of molecular phylogenetic analyses. We present herein the largest, most representative phylogeny of Begonia published to date and a subsequent provisional sectional classification of the genus. We utilised three plastid markers for 574 species and 809 accessions of Begonia and used Hillebrandia as an outgroup to produce a dated phylogeny. The relationships between some species and sections are poorly resolved, but many sections and deeper nodes receive strong support. We recognise 70 sections of Begonia including 5 new sections: Astrothrix, Ephemera, Jackia, Kollmannia, and Stellandrae; 4 sections are reinstated from synonymy: Australes, Exalabegonia, Latistigma and Pereira; and 5 sections are newly synonymised. The new sectional classification is discussed with reference to identifying characters and previous classifications

Dividing and conquering the fastest-growing genus: Towards a natural sectional classification of the mega-diverse genus Begonia (Begoniaceae)

The pantropical genus Begonia is the sixth-largest genus of flowering plants, including 1870 species. The sections of Begonia are used frequently as analogues to genera in other families but, despite their taxonomic utility, few of the current sections have been examined in the light of molecular phylogenetic analyses. We present herein the largest, most representative phylogeny of Begonia published to date and a subsequent provisional sectional classification of the genus. We utilised three plastid markers for 574 species and 809 accessions of Begonia and used Hillebrandia as an outgroup to produce a dated phylogeny. The relationships between some species and sections are poorly resolved, but many sections and deeper nodes receive strong support. We recognise 70 sections of Begonia including 5 new sections: Astrothrix, Ephemera, Jackia, Kollmannia, and Stellandrae; 4 sections are reinstated from synonymy: Australes, Exalabegonia, Latistigma and Pereira; and 5 sections are newly synonymised. The new sectional classification is discussed with reference to identifying characters and previous classifications