Taxonomy of the genus Begonia (Begoniaceae) in Mindanao, Philippines IV: Begonia bangsamoro subsp. bagasa (Begonia section Petermannia), a new subspecies from Zamboanga del Sur

Abstract

A subspecies new to science, Begonia bangsamoro subsp. bagasa Naive (section Petermannia) discovered in Zamboanga del Sur, Western Mindanao, Philippines is herewith described and illustrated. The new subspecies differs significantly from the type subspecies in having staminate and pistillate flowers with very narrow tepals. A colour plate, notes on its distribution, habitat, phenology, proposed conservation assessment based on IUCN criteria as well as a checklist of Begonia species present in Zamboanga Peninsula are provided. With this discovery, Zamboanga Peninsula now holds a total of 17 Begonia taxa, and the very first subspecies described for the Philippine archipelago.

A new species of Begonia section Baryandra from Zamboanga Peninsula, Southwestern Philippines

“…The region of Zamboanga Peninsula, southwestern Mindanao is one of the botanically unexplored areas in the Philippines. Based on herbarium records and literature, 17 species and one subspecies of Begonia were recorded in Zamboanga Peninsula (Naive et al 2022;. Begonia sect.…”

Discovery through citizen science III: Cryptocoryne zamboangensis (Araceae), a new water trumpet discovered in Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines

“…A detailed description, photographs to aid identification, distribution, phenology, ecology, proposed conservation status and comparison to allied species are provided below. This paper represents the third installment in a series that seeks to assess and document the genus Cryptocoryne in the Philippines through the help of citizen science (Naive et al 2022a(Naive et al , 2023b.…”

“…However, thanks to ongoing field exploration efforts in the area over the past few years, new plant taxa have been discovered within the Zamboanga Peninsula such as Plagiostachys lourdesiae Docot (Docot 2020), Macrosolen zamboangensis Mazo, Nickrent and Pelser (Mazo et al 2022), Begonia bangsamoro subsp. bagasa Naive (Naive et al 2022a) and many more.…”

“…The Zamboanga Peninsula, located in western Mindanao, is a distinct landmass known for its unique biodiversity (Naive et al 2022a). It is believed to have originated during the Miocene era as a separate piece of land, possibly connected to Palawan in the past.…”