Begonia phrixophylla

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Begonia phrixophylla Blatt. & McCann, J. Indian Bot. Soc. 10: 27 1931.;
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Common name: Shimpli • Marathi: शिंपली Shimpli
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The identification key is as follows (reference : Flora of Maharashtra : BSI)
Male sepals elliptic 1.2 cm across………… B.concanensis
Male sepals almost orbicular 2.7 cm across…….B.prixophylla
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According to Dr Almeida the most obvious difference is in the size and shape of leaves with Begonia concanensis having smaller, ovate leaves and B. prixophylla having larger, broad leaves which are almost round.
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 Images by tspkumar

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55-TSP-ID-05MAY2016-1:Begonia sp (Begoniaceae) for ID : 4 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (4)

Kindly identify this Begonia sp (Begoniaceae) 

Habit: Herb 

Habitat: Wild, among rock crevices, evergreen forest 

Sighting: Devaramane, Chikmagalur, Karnataka, about 1200 msl 

Date: 12-08-2015

Pl. check Begonia phrixophylla Blatt. & McCann as per comparative images at Begonia

Begonia phrixophylla Blatt. & McCann looks good.

Yes, I can see this is a match for B. phrixophylla as far as it is known.

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Images by Prashant Awale – Id by Adittya Dharap 

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Begonia concanensis : Attachments (4). 11 posts by 6 authors.

Sharing photographs of Begonia concanensis (Family: Begoniaceae).
Location: Sudhagad (Pali)

B.prixophylla ?:

B.concanensis ?:

I feel the images qualify for Begonia prixophylla.
To justify my point attached please find the images of B.concanensis & B.prixophylla.
(These are identified by me based on key and there is a possibility that I have erred).
The identification key is as follows (reference : Flora of Maharashtra : BSI)
Male sepals elliptic 1.2 cm across………… B.concanensis
Male sepals almost orbicular 2.7 cm across…….B.prixophylla
There is one more distinguishing character given in Flora of Maharashtra by Dr.Almeida
That the sepals in B.prixophylla are hairy (I will give the exact details later in the day).
Nevertheless the two species are very close and confusing. Apart from this the BSI flora indicates that the occurrence ofB.prixophylla is Satara but the image I have posted (if it is B.prixophylla) herewith is away from Satara!
From this I feel that the flower images posted by you qualify for B.prixophylla rather than B.concanensis since the male sepals are more wide and orbicular (last image) and hirsute on the dorsal side.

This is what I feel. Maybe … can clear this doubt.

The 2 species are very similar. According to Dr Almeida the most obvious difference is in the size and shape of leaves with Begonia concanensis having smaller, ovate leaves and B. prixophylla having larger, broad leaves which are almost round.
I have found this plant a few times and had concluded that it was B. concanensis. My photos look very much like … plant.


Thank you for your comments.
After posting the images I felt that the id cannot be conclusive by images alone and has to be supported by measurements for sepals as indicated by BSI flora key and that of leaves as indicated by Dr. Almeida in Flora of Maharashtra.
Nevertheless am attaching an image of leaf with bristles since the plant in question is with epithet prixophylla.

thanks for the picture of the leaves, but I am unable to open such large attachments! Will take your word for it.
Yes, it’s very difficult to be sure without live specimens. 

I could not find Begonia prixophylla on net,
Is the spelling allright ? 

Try searching for Begonia phrixophylla…

B. phrixophylla looks like a match as far as I can tell. B. concanensis has no type and only a short description, so it is not possible to confirm or deny if it is the same or different.

 

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References:

The Plant List  GRIN  Flowers of India  India Biodiversity Portal  1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants edited by Kerry Scott Walter, Harriet J. Gillett