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ITANAGAR: Researchers have discovered and described a new species of Begonia from Arunachal Pradesh's Keyi Panyor district, adding to the floral diversity of the Northeast.
Named Begonia neelamorum, the species was documented by researchers Dipankar Borah, Madhusudhan Khanal, Momang Taram and Neelam Gap, with their findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Taiwania.
The small, tuberous plant was found growing on steep, moist walls along the Keyi River at an elevation of around 1,000 metres. It was named after the Neelam clan of the Nyishi community in recognition of assistance provided during the researchers' expedition. The plant is locally known as 'kobiirhopu baabrai'.
The species resembles Begonia prolifera but differs in several characteristics, including glandular hairs, rounded stems, ovate leaves with double-serrated margins, inflorescence structure and shorter styles.
The species is currently known only from an area of around three square kilometres in Keyi Panyor district and has been provisionally classified as "Data Deficient" under IUCN criteria.
The discovery takes the number of Begonia species recorded from Northeast India to 54. The genus comprises around 2,200 accepted species, mainly distributed across tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.
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