Begonia fulgens Lemoine

Moonlight, Peter & Fuentes, Alfredo F., 2022, AN UPDATED CHECKLIST AND KEY TO THE SPECIES OF BOLIVIAN BEGONIA, INCLUDING ONE NEW SPECIES, Edinburgh Journal of Botany 79 (407), pp. 1-66 : 54

Begonia fulgens Lemoine , Hort. Lemoine 119: IV (1891).

– Type: Unknown.

V. Lemoine, Hort. Lemoine 127: 82 (1894); L.B. Smith & B.G. Schubert, Revista Univ. (Cuzco) 33(87): 78 (1944); R.C. Foster, Contr. Gray Herb. 184: 137 (1958); D.C. Wasshausen et al. in P.M. JØrgensen et al. (eds), Cat. Bolivia, Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 129: 385 (2013).

Notes. Begonia fulgens Lemoine was included in Smith and Schubert’s revision of the Begoniaceae for the Flora of Bolivia ( Smith & Schubert, 1944a) and the first checklist of Bolivian Begonia ( Foster, 1958) . Wasshausen et al. (2013) excluded the species from their treatment, stating that these earlier records were based on incorrectly identified material. Smith & Schubert (1944a), however, only cited the protologue of Begonia fulgens ( Lemoine, 1891) and its citation in the Index Kewensis (1905: pp. 493), whereas Foster only cited the protologue. Neither citation can therefore be a misapplied name.

The protologue of Begonia fulgens describes it as a caulescent, tuberous species with four tepals on the staminate flower and five (or six) tepals on the pistillate flowers. All aspects of the description are consistent with Tebbitt’s concept of Begonia veitchii Hook.f. var. veitchii (Tebbitt, 2020) except the occasional six tepals on the pistillate flower. Tebbitt refrained from including Begonia fulgens in the synonymy of B. veitchii var. veitchii and suggested the six tepals may indicate it is of hybrid origin. Recent photographs from Sandia Province, Puno Region, Peru do, however, show some individuals of Begonia veitchii var. veitchii with six tepals on the pistillate flowers (Josh Allen, unpublished).

An illustration published in Wiener illustrirte Garten-Zeitung (without author, 1893: fig. 9) may show a plant from the original illustration of B. fulgens, and clearly shows a plant with five tepals on the pistillate flower. The origins of this plant are, however, unclear. The text accompanying the illustration states that the plant was exhibited in Lyon, and it is unclear whether this is true of the original introduction of Begonia fulgens. The text also mentions hybridisation, but it is unclear whether the authors are referring to the illustrated plant as a hybrid or a general increase in the number of hybridised tuberous begonias. The claimed size of the flowers of this plant reaches 12–15 cm across, which may indicate that the plant is a hybrid or it could equally be the result of cultivating a plant in optimal conditions. A further possibility is a nursery exaggerating the size of the blooms of their latest product.

We strongly suspect that the original description of Begonia fulgens refers to the same species as B. veitchii but are unable to conclusively demonstrate this. There is no known type of the name and little prospect of one arising, the original horticultural descriptions are ambiguous, and it is unclear whether later citations (e.g. without author, 1893) refer to the same introduction as the protologue. We suggest that future authors reject this name.