Begonia thaipingensis
(Copyright © Suhaida M.)Begonias, from the family Begoniaceae, are indigenous plants in the tropics and subtropics of Central and South America, Africa and Asia. The genus name Begonia honours Michael Begon (1638–1710), a French Canada governor. Begoniaceae is a large family of flowering plants with over 2000 species. They can be found as understory plants in lowland, hill and limestone forests.
Begonias are monoecious plants that have separate, unisexual male and female flowers on the same plant. A female flower has two to four branched or twisted stigmas and a large inferior ovary, whereas a male flower has many stamens. The flowers are typically pink, red, yellow or white. Begonias are renowned for their eye-catching leaves, which come in an array of sizes, shapes and textures. The leaves can be variegated or in different shades of green, bronze or burgundy, and they can have different shapes, such as heart, star or round, as well as asymmetric or uneven sides. Some others may have fuzzy or hairy textures.
Begonia thaipingensis is a species native to Peninsular Malaysia. Since it was initially found in Taiping, Perak, it bears the name of its location. The southernmost region of Perak is home to its population. It grows in the deep shade on slopes of lowland and hill forests, up to an altitude of about 1000 m.
The kidney-shaped or rounded leaves of this species, which are slightly asymmetrical, are its distinguishing feature. Begonia thaipingensis has a broad range of leaf colours because its velvety leaf surface creates an iridescent sheen when light strikes it from different angles. The colour can shift from blue to black, blue to green, or blue to golden fawn. Its leaves are widely spaced on a long and slender, creeping stem. The female flowers of B. thaipingensis have five white or pale pink tepals with a pinkish red ovary, whereas the male flowers have four white or pale pink tepals with red tips. The fruit is thinly fibrous and resembles a pendent splash cup (Kiew, 2005).
Begonia thaipingensis is rare and endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. Due to habitat loss, it is classified as Near Threatened in the Malaysia Plant Red List assessment year 2009 (Chua et al., 2009).
