Begonia gigantica, also known as the tallest Begonia species in Asia was found in Tibet.
Begonia is one of the largest plant genera, with about 2050 species. A Begonia taller than a human is rare, as most Begonias are little weeds. The newly discovered Begonia gigantica, on the other hand, is one of the few exceptions.
Dr. Daike Tian and colleagues began a field assessment of wild Begonias in Tibet in 2019. Dr. Tian was thrilled on September 10, 2020, when he saw a massive Begonia in full bloom while doing surveys in Mêdog county.
He was certain it was a new species after inspecting its blossoms.
Dr. Tian selected two of the tallest individuals from a small group of a few dozens to measure and prepare specimens for further research.
One of them stood 3.6 meters tall, with a ground stem that was close to 12 centimeters in diameter at its thickest point. He had to ask the driver to stand on top of the vehicle in order to properly measure it.
Dr. Tian had to cut each plant into four portions in order to transport them back to Shanghai and prepare dry specimens.
This plant is now the tallest Begonia ever documented in Asia.
Begonia gigantica, newly described as a new species in the open-access journal PhytoKeys, thrives at elevations of 450–1400 m on slopes underwoods near streams.
It has a fragmented distribution in southern Tibet, which is one of the reasons why the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria granted it an Endangered conservation status.
The dried specimen was 3.1 m tall and 2.5 m broad after being dried in a herbarium and displayed on a huge board. This is the world’s largest example of a Begonia species, as far as researchers know.
Visitors to the first Chinese Begonia show in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden in October 2020 were astounded by its enormous size.
Chenshan Herbarium’s staff is currently working on a Guinness World Records application for this species.
Source: 10.3897/phytokeys.187.75854
Image Credit: Qing-Gong Mao
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