PHILIPPINE SPECIES OF BEGONIA. 371 
not especially adapted to the culture of species that require a relatively 
high humidity. 
The majority of our species apparently have well developed distin- 
guishing characters, but in some groups, notably Begonia nigriiarum and 
its immediate allies, distinctive characters are rather obscure, and the 
present treatment of the Begonia nigriiarum group, as well as of some 
others will doubtless be modified in the future as more material becomes 
available for comparison. Another group of closely allied forms are 
the five species including and following Begonia klemmei. Frequently 
specimens will be found that in vegetative and floral characters so closely 
resemble each other that it is difficult or impossible to distinguish 
between them, yet when mature fruits are secured, the capsules will be 
found to be entirely different, hence the desirability of securing as 
nearly complete material of each species as is possible. 
In addition to the rich collections of Philippine material in the Her- 
barium of the Bureau of Science, the author has had an opportunity to 
examine 
in various American and European herbaria, and several of the species 
described by European authors are represented in the Herbarium of the 
Bureau by cotypes. 
Although in the following enumeration the number of Philippine 
species has been increased to fifty-nine, it confidently is expected that 
future botanical exploration will add a number of additional forms. 
In the time that elapsed between the ' inception and completion of the 
manuscript of the present paper about 15 distinct forms were added to 
the collections through the medium of recent botanical exploration, while 
several apparently undescribed species are represented in the herbarium 
by incomplete material. 
KEY TO THE PHILIPPINE SPECIES OF BEGONIA. 
1 Capsules not or very tardily dehiscent, very obscurely or not at all winged; 
coarse, erect, branched herbs with rather dense, axillary inflorescences. 
,.,„, 1. B. pseudo-Uiteralis 
1. Capsules distinctly winged, dehiscing early. 
2 Staminate flowers with 2 sepals and no petals, or petals very rarely present; 
erect, more or less branched or simple plants, herbaceous or suffrutescent. 
§ PETERMANNIA. . 
3. Staminate and pistillate flowers axillary, solitary or fascicled. 
4, Leaves strongly and obliquely cordate at the base.. -2. B. rohtusonn 
4. Leaves gradually narrowed to the acute or obtuse, slightly inequilateral, 
scarcely or but slightly cordate base. \ ^ ^ 
5 Stems and leaves rather densely clothed with long, slender, brown 
. 3. B. ciliifera 
hairs — 
5 WTiole plant glabrous or only slightly hairy. „ .^ 
6 Leaves distinctly and irregularly lobed _ 4. B. rmndanaensrs 
6* Leaves not lobed, irregularly dentate or denticulate 
5. B. fasctcuhftora 
