370 
MERRILL. 
definitely known from the Archipelago at the beginning of botanical 
exploration under the American administration. Since that date a few 
additional species have been described in the publications of the Bureau 
of Science, and in 1910 five species were described by Mr. Elmer under 
the title “New Species of Begonia.” 8 In this last paper the sections 
to which the several species belong are not indicated, and through over- 
sight the capsules are all described as the “seed”; in this paper it is 
well to note that the capsule descriptions and measurements are ex- 
clusive of the wings, while in the following enumeration the descrip- 
tions and measurements include the wings. 
As arranged in the present paper the Philippine material available 
for study is distributed among fifty-nine species, all of which are ap- 
parently endemic. The majority of the species are referable to two 
sections, Pelermannia and Diploclinium , both of which reach their 
maximum development in the Philippines. A single species is referable 
to the very distinct section Sphenanthera, which has been treated by 
several authors as worthy of generic rank, and one of two of the forms 
treated under the section Diploclinium may eventually' prove to be 
referable to some other section. 
The greater proportion of our species are of local occurrence, their 
ranges being much restricted, which in general is true of the entire 
family. A few, such as Begonia nigritarum Steud., as interpreted by 
me, and B. pseudo-lateralis Warb., are found in most parts of the 
Archipelago in proper habitats. 
Here as elsewhere. Begonias are found in shaded, especially damp 
ravines, on banks and cliffs along small streams especially on seepage 
slopes, rarely on the broader slopes in forests. Some are found on more 
or less exposed cliffs that become thoroughly dry in the dry season, others 
are never found except in perennially damp and shaded ravines, and 
still others are never found outside of the limits of the mossy forests 
on our higher mountains. Most of the species do not seem to have a 
great altitudinal range, but Begonia nigritarum, as here interpreted, 
extends from sea level in some regions to an altitude of about 1,200 
meters in other regions. 
In Manila a number of exotic forms are cultivated by local gardeners, 
but no attempt has been made to determine these in the present paper. 
It is believed, however, that many of our indigenous species are worthy 
of cultivation as ornamental plants, although little attempt seems to 
have been made to introduce our local forms into cultivation. Begonia 
nigritarum is not infrequently found in local gardens, but this is the 
only endemic species I have observed in Manila. Probably the chief 
reason why more of the local forms have not been successfully cultivated 
in Manila is that the climatic conditions in the vicinity of the city are 
8 Leafl. Philip. Bot. 2 (1910) 735-740. 
