THE FLORA OF MOUNT PULOG. 
365 
BEGONIACEiE. 
BEGONIA Linn. 
L Begonia merrittii Merrill sp. nov. § Petermannia. 
Herbacea vel suffruticosa, erecta vel subscandens, usque ad 2 m alta, 
glabra; foliis breviter petiolatis, inaequilateraliter lanceolato-ovatis vel 
oblongo-lanceolatis, 5 ad 7 cm longis, oblique subcordatis, lobo inferiore 
rnulto ampliore, rotundato, margiue varie dentatis vel deutato-sublobatis, 
parce subulato-denticulatis > subtus sub lente miuute densissime albido- 
punctatis, glabris; peduuculis folio brevioribus, dichotomis ; floribus 
masculinis 3 ad 3.5 cm diametro; capsulis truncatis, aequaliter trialatis, 
2 ad 2.5 cm latis. 
Herbaceous or suffrutescent, erect or subscandent, 1 to 2 m high, 
branched. Stems reddish-brown when dry, terete, glabrous, the ultimate 
branchlets slender. Leaves inequilaterally lanceolate-ovate to oblong- 
lanceolate, 5 to 7 cm long, usually less than 3 cm wide, chartaceous, 
usually brownish when dry, not shining, paler beneath, glabrous, the 
lower surface under the lens minutely, densely, and obscurely white- 
punctate, base strongly inequilateral, obliquely subcordate, the lower lobe 
rounded, broad, the upper narrow, acute, the apex prominently sub- 
caudate-aeuminate, the margins variously dentate or dentate-sublobed, 
somewhat subulate-denticulate; nerves prominent, the reticulations sub- 
obsolete ; petioles 5 to 10 mm long ; stipules membranaceous, oblong- 
lanceolate, long and slenderly acuminate, 1 to 1.5 cm long, caducous. 
Male inflorescence once or twice dichotomous, the peduncle 1 to 2 cm long, 
the pedicels slender, 1 to 2 cm long, usually somewhat accrescent in 
fruit. Flowers 3 to 3.5 cm in diameter, pink, the sepals 2, orbicular, 
petals none. Pistillate flowers about as larg^asJjhe staminate »nes, the 
lobes much narrower than the sepals of the stamid&te flowers* Capsule 
1.5 cm long, the apex truncate, including the wings 2 to* 2.5 cm wide, 
the base acute. 
In the mossy forest above 2,250 m, G. ill. Z. 16116, Merrill 6502. The species 
is also well represented by a large series of specimens from the higher mountains 
of northern Luzon, as follows: District of Lepanto, For. Bur. 14491 Darling: 
Province of Benguet, Mount Ugo, Bur. Sci. 5839 Ramos ; Pauai, Bur. Sci. 4385 
Mearns, Merrill 4181, Bur. Sci. 8496 McGregor ; Mount Lusod, For. Bur. 15136 
Merritt & Curran; Mount Tonglon (Santo Tomas), Elmer 6254 (type), Bur. Sci. 
5455 Ramos, Merrill 4823, Williams 1211, For. Bur. 11101 Whitford, For. Bur. 
4996 Curran. All the numbers cited are from the mossy forest above the alti- 
tudinal distribution of Pinus insularis Endl., and the species is absolutely confined 
to the wet mossy forest. 
The species is somewhat variable, but is manifestly allied to Begonia Cumin- 
giana A. DC., and to B. philippinensis, recognizable at once by its smaller, rela- 
tively narrower, and quite glabrous leaves. 
2. B. manillensis A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 15 1 (1864) 323. 
Grassy slopes, altitude about 1,800 m, C. ill. Z. 16115, Igorot, sasabang. 
Endemic; known only from Luzon. 
