Begonia hatacoa var. meisneri (C.B.Clarke) Golding

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 : 46

Begonia hatacoa var. meisneri (C.B.Clarke) Golding

Phytologia 40: 19 ( Golding 1978). – Begonia rubrovenia var. meisneri C.B.Clarke, The Flora of British India 2: 645 ( Clarke 1879). – Type: India, Meghalaya, Sillet Hills, Gomez s.n., Wallich Cat. No. 6294 (lecto-: K-W, barcode K000542891, here designated).

Begonia meisneri Wall., A numerical list of dried specimens of plants in the East India Company’s Museum: 213, 6294 ( Wallich 1831), nom. nud.

Other material examined

INDIA: Meghalaya: Jaintia Hills, Jaintiapur, 26 Oct. 1946, Ward 16046 ( BM, E); Khasia, 23 Oct. 1871, Clarke 15869 ( K).

Description

Plant ca 10 cm high. Stem: 2–4 mm wide when dry, internodes 0.5–3 cm long. Stipules: 5–7 mm long. Leaves: petiole 1–4 cm long, densely pubescent; lamina symmetric, upper surface dark green, underside red, dense red tomentose on veins only; margin shallow wide dentate. Inflorescence: bracts 2–5 × 2 mm. Fruit: capsule 7–9 × 3 mm.

Distribution and phenology

Endemic to the Sillet and Jaintia Hills; 450–1150 m. Flowering: July to August; fruiting: July to October.

Remarks

This variety is characterized by small linear leaves with broadly spaced dentitions. The specimen Clarke 15869 cited in the protologue was located at Kew with a label that reads ‘halfway to B. meisneri’. The leaves when dried can look metallic blue on the underside. Ward 16046 (BM) is a good representative specimen of this variety. Kumaria et al. (2012) report B. hatacoa var. meisneri in cultivation, however, the photograph shows a plant likely to be B. palmata .