Begonia sect. Apteron C.DC.

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 : 31

Begonia sect. Apteron C.DC.

Bulletin de l’Herbier Boissier II 8 (5): 326 ( de Candolle 1908).

– Type: holotype: Begonia exalata C.DC.

Notes

Begonia exalata is the type species of B. sect. Apteron, which was described by Casimir de Candolle ( de Candolle 1908). The section was synonymised with B. sect. Knesebeckia by Doorenbos et al. (1998) because it was separated by only one character: its fruit lacking wings. An ongoing revision of this section (Moonlight in prep.) demonstrates that B. exalata is allied to three other species: B. microcarpa A.DC. , B. pastoensis , and B. pedemontana sp. nov. These species are phylogenetically distinct from the rest of B. sect. Knesebeckia ( Moonlight et al. 2018) and can be distinguished as caulescent herbs that lack a tuber or rhizome and root at the lower nodes. We reinstate B. sect. Apteron to include these four species, including two found in Peru.