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| Begonia salog Dela Cruz, Bucay, Corre, & Valiente, in Dela Cruz, Bucay, Corre, Valiente, Tandang et Chung, 2026. |
Abstract
Begonia salog, a member of section Baryandra, is characterized by rhizomatous growth, axillary protandrous inflorescences with boat-shaped bracts, and ovaries with bifid placentae. While sharing glandular hairs on the inflorescence with B. caramoanensis, it is distinguished by puberulent petioles (vs. tomentose), broadly serrated, non-ciliate leaf margins (vs. shallowly undulate and ciliate), a glabrous abaxial leaf surface (vs. pilose), glabrous bracts (vs. glandular-hairy), and a glabrous ovary (vs. glandular-hairy). Begonia salog is described here as a new species from the karst landscapes of southeastern Luzon, Philippines, with notes on its ecology and habitat, and a preliminary IUCN-based conservation assessment.
Keyword: Begonia caramoanensis, biodiversity conservation, comparative morphology, plant endemism, species delimitation
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| Begonia salog Dela Cruz, Bucay, Corre, & Valiente. A. Habitat and habit; B. Rhizome, showing stipules and petiole base; C. Petiole showing vestiture; D. Adaxial leaf lamina; E. Abaxial leaf lamina; F. Staminate flower, face view; G. Pistillate flower, face view; H. Staminate flower, side view; I. Pistillate flower, side view; J. Inflorescence; K. Immature staminate flower showing the bracts and vestiture; L. Dissected stipule; M. Capsule; N. Ovary cross-section. All from C.J.P. Dela Cruz 0016 (Holotype, PNH) |
Begonia salog Dela Cruz, Bucay, Corre, & Valiente, sp nov.
(§ Baryandra)
Diagnosis: Begonia salog is characterized by its rhizomatous growth habit, axillary protandrous inflorescences with boat-shaped bracts, and an ovary exhibiting bifid placentation. Begonia salog is morphologically similar to B. caramoanensis (Rubite et al., 2020) in possessing glandular hairs on the inflorescences, but it can be distinguished by several key morphological traits. These include its puberulent (vs. tomentose) petioles; broadly serrate, non-ciliate leaf margins (vs. shallowly undulate to almost entire and ciliate); a glabrous abaxial lamina (vs. pilose with lightgreen to maroon hispid hairs denser along the veins) abaxial leaf lamina; glabrous (vs. glandular-hairy) bracts; and a glabrous (vs. glandular-hairy) ovary. Additional diagnostic differences between the two taxa are detailed in Table 1
Etymology: The epithet salog comes from the Bicolano word meaning ‘river,’ referring to the habitat where the plant was first documented.
Cyrus Job P. Dela Cruz, Mark Angelo C. Bucay, Karen B. Corre, Judy Ann V. Valiente, Danilo N. Tandang and Kuo-Fang Chung. 2026. Begonia salog (Begoniaceae, section Baryandra), A New endemic Species from southeastern Luzon, Philippines. Taiwania. 71(4); 632-637 DOI: 10.6165/tai.2026.71.632 [10 August 2026]