A non-coding plastid DNA phylogeny of Asian Begonia (Begoniaceae): Evidence for morphological homoplasy and sectional polyphyly

The Origin of Diversity in Begonia: Genome Dynamism, Population Processes and Phylogenetic Patterns

“…The distribution of Begonia diversity is uneven throughout tropical regions, with the greatest diversity in America and Asia (>600 species each), whilst being relatively species poor in Africa (160 species) and absent in Australia (Goodall-Copestake et al, 2010). The genus is thought to have originated in Africa, while South American and South East Asian species are the results of parallel radiations over the last 20 -50 million years (Goodall Copestake et al, 2010;Plana et al, 2004;Thomas et al, 2011). Long distance dispersal is rare, for example Begonia species have failed to cross the Torres strait from Papua New Guinea to Australia.…”

“…The phylogenetic relationships within the relatively small group of African Begonia, which comprises around 160 species subdivided into 17 sections (de Wilde & Plana, 2003;Doorenbos et al, 1998), are relatively well understood. African Begonia species are not retrieved as monophyletic, but South African species placed in section Augustia were shown to be closely related to a clade of American taxa, and Socotran Begonia species (section Peltaugustia) were shown to form a monophyletic clade with Asian taxa (Forrest et al, 2005;Goodall-Copestake et al, 2010;Plana et al, 2004;Thomas et al, 2011). Revisions exist for the majority of the African sections (see references in Plana, 2003), and the intersectional relationships of African Begonia species have been studied using molecular systematic approaches and have been discussed in some detail in Plana (2003) and Plana et al (2004).…”

The Calcarea group of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from Borneo, including four new species from Sarawak

“…Diploclinium was clearly a problematic group being heterogeneous and polymorphic. Thomas et al (2011) noted that Begonia sect. Diploclinium had become a dustbin and that phylogenetic analyses clearly demonstrated that Begonia sect.…”

“…The type species for Begonia sect. Diploclinium, Begonia grandis Otto ex A.DC, belongs to the tuberous group, which formed a basal grade in the analyses of Thomas et al (2011) in a clade also comprising species of Begonia sect. Sphenanthera and Begonia sect.…”

A new species and a new record in Begonia sect. Platycentrum (Begoniaceae) from Thailand

“…They are all confined to montane forests above 1000 m in altitude (Hughes, 2008;Phutthai et al, 2009). However, based on molecular data (Thomas et al, 2011), the placement of Begonia smithiae in Begonia sect. Platycentrum appears to be erroneous and is a phylogenetically rather isolated species closer to Begonia sect.…”