New Begonia species discovered in Arunachal's Keyi Panyor district

A new species of Begonia has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh's Keyi Panyor district, adding to the northeastern state's rich floral diversity, officials said on September 25.

Named Begonia neelamorum, the newly identified species was documented by researchers Dipankar Borah, Madhusudhan Khanal, Momang Taram and Neelam Gap. Their findings have been published in Taiwania, an international peer-reviewed journal.

The researchers found the small, tuberous plant growing on steep, moist walls along the Keyi River at an elevation of around 1,000 metres, according to the study.

The species has been named after the Neelam clan of the Nyishi community, in recognition of the assistance provided by its members during the researchers' expedition.

Locally, the plant is known as 'kobiirhopu baabrai'.

The newly discovered species has a single, sessile, light-green leaf and produces white male and female flowers. While it closely resembles Begonia prolifera, researchers said it differs in several characteristics, including its glandular hairs, rounded stem, ovate leaves with double-serrated margins, inflorescence structure and shorter styles.

The species is currently known only from a limited area of around three square kilometres in Keyi Panyor district.

It has been provisionally classified as "Data Deficient" under the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), meaning that available information is insufficient to assess its conservation status more fully.

With the discovery, the number of Begonia species recorded from Northeast India has risen to 54.

The genus Begonia comprises around 2,200 accepted species, distributed mainly across tropical and subtropical regions around the world.