Begonia aptera

Phenology: — The plant is observed to bear flowers and fruit in the months of May to June.

Sumber: A new record of Begonia aptera in Southern Mindanao: the second species of Begonia sect. Platycentrum recorded from the Philippines

Proposed Conservation Status: — It was observed that the patches of individuals were scattered along the trails of both Mountain Ranges and the populations appear to be well-established across the forests. However, because of the observed threats in the population such as trail clearing for tourist use and farm intrusions, we propose the newly recorded species to be declared locally as Vulnerable. This is based on the guidelines set by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the National List of Threatened Plants and their Categories, whereas Vulnerable species are defined as species vulnerable to ‘ adverse’ factors throughout its range (DENR 2017). However, on a global scale, the provisional IUCN conservation assessment of Sulawesi populations of B. aptera as Least Concern (LC) will remain as the initial Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of 690,000 km 2 recorded in Sulawesi is expected to be even larger because of this new distribution record in Mindanao island (Ardi et al. 2017).

Sumber: A new record of Begonia aptera in Southern Mindanao: the second species of Begonia sect. Platycentrum recorded from the Philippines

Monoecious, perennial, shrub, 30 – 35 cm tall. Stems brown to pale green, fleshy, glabrous, 1.2 cm width at base, internode 5 – 13 cm. Stipules deciduous, green or brown, triangular, 10 × 4 mm, herbaceous, glabrous, margins bi-toothed, serrate, apex acute. Leaves alternate; petioles terete, fleshy, pale green and / or brownish, 4.5 – 10.5 cm long, glabrous; lamina broadly elliptic, 12 – 14.5 cm from the point of attachment to apex, 16 – 18 cm from basal lobes to tip, 9 – 10.5 cm wide, basal lobes rounded, sometimes shallowly overlapping, attenuate at apex, margins glabrous, serrate to serrulate, adaxial surface pale green, glabrous, abaxial surface light green, glabrous, venation palmate, 5 – 7 veins, dichotomously branching, slightly depressed in adaxial surface, slightly raised in abaxial surface. Inflorescence axillary, bisexual, protandrous, 2 – 3 cm long, peduncle erect, pale green, glabrous 1 – 1.5 cm long. Bracts caducous, light brown, lowest pair 1 – 1.5 × 0.2 – 0.5 cm, glabrous, persistent, apex acuminate, margin entire. Staminate flowers: pedicel 1.6 cm long, white to light green, glabrous, tepals 4; 2 outer tepals, orbicular, white, 1 × 1.3 cm, glabrous, apex rounded, margins entire; 2 inner tepals ovate, white, 0.5 × 0.6 cm, glabrous, apex rounded, margin entire; androecium actinomorphic, 8 mm across; stamens yellow, 60 – 80, filament light yellow, 2.5 mm long, united at base; anthers obovate, 5 – 6 mm long, apex rounded, connective projecting 0.2 mm. Pistillate flowers: pedicel 1 cm long, glabrous; tepals 6; 3 outer tepals ovate to broadly ovate, white, 1 × 1.2 cm, apex obtuse, margins entire, glabrous; 3 inner tepals ovate, 0.5 × 0.6 cm, white, apex obtuse, margins entire, glabrous; ovary trigonal-ellipsoidal, ovate to oblong outline, green, 0.6 – 0.8 × 1 – 1.2 cm, 3 - locular, placentae bilamellate, glabrous; wings 3, reduced, triangular, base rounded, apex obtuse, green, 0.5 × 0.3 cm. Fruit, 3 - locular, fleshy, rhomboidal-spherical, 1 × 1.5 cm (wings included), nodding, pedicel, 0.8 – 1.0 cm long; wings, reduced, triangular, base obtuse, apex acute, pale green, 0.5 × 0.3 cm.