B. aptera subsp. aptera

Begonia aptera – By Te-Tsun Yu Begonia aptera, found in Tsing-tung, Manchuan, altitude 2200 m, under woods near a stream on Jan. 24, 1940. Height from 2 to 3 ft. with pinkish-white flowers. This is a widely spreading species in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. Its distribution extends south from Java, Siam, Tonkin, Annam and north to Yunnam. The length of the obliquely cordate leaves varies from 8 cm. long and 2.5 cm. broad to 22 cm. long 14 cm. broad. The color of the axillary and solitary flowers varies from pure white to pale rosy pink. It ·has been raised and blossoms freely in the greenhouse of the Yunnam Botanical Institute of Kunming. Cuttings of the stem and leaves strike easily in sand. Begonia Handelii, found in Hokou, Ma-hwang-pu, succulent herb with large pink flowers, March 11, 1939. Rootstocks collected by the writer from Hokou, the Red River Valley, under evergreen broad-leaved forests, April 1940. Cultivated in the greenhouse of the Yunnan Botanical Institute, flowers white with pinkish tinge, very fragrant, blossoming from January to February 1942. F. T. Wang no. 2526. Distribution: Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and south to Tonkin. This species is highly ornamental, due to its large obliquely ovate leaves covered with dense reddish hairs and its numerous large: pinkish flowers with a pleasant aroma. It is a dioecious plant, a character rather rare in this genus.

• Classification: Species
• Plant Type: Cane-like
• Botanical Section: Platycentrum
• Origin: Asia, Indonesia; Moluccas; Western New Guinea
• Originator: Blume
• Date of Origin: 1827