Begonia anemonoides Haenke, 1809

Moonlight, Peter. W., Jara-Muñoz, Orlando A., Purvis, David A., Delves, Jay, Allen, Josh P. & Reynel, Carlos, 2023, The genus Begonia (Begoniaceae) in Peru, European Journal of Taxonomy 881, pp. 1-334 : 302

Begonia anemonoides Haenke

Voyages dans l’Amérique Méridionale depuis 1781-1801 2: 503 ( Haenke 1809).

– Type: unknown.

Notes

This species was described as abundant in the Andes Mountains of “Peruvia”. At the turn of the 19 th Century “Peruvia” referred to the Viceroyalty of Peru including much of modern-day Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. It remains very unclear where Haenke encountered this species. Furthermore, no type material of the species was cited in the protologue, but it is possible that some original material remains undiscovered among the specimens housed in PR herbarium. The protologue describes the species as tuberous with flowers resembling those of an Anemone , and while this is not sufficient for identification it seems likely that this refers to a member of the octopetala group of B. sect. Eupetalum ( Tebbitt 2015) . The only member of the octopetala group described before 1809 was B. octopetala so B. anemonoides Haenke may be an earlier name for any other species in this group. The discovery of original material and lectotypification of B. anemonoides should be a priority for any future work on Peruvian or tuberous Andean Begonia , and if this is not possible the name should be rejected.