Molecular and Morphological Evidence for Novel Begonia species from Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park

Abstract

Many endemic Begonia species are present in the Philippines especially in limestone, karst forests (Rubite, 2010). In a recent visit to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, three species of Begonia were found and were suspected to be novel. The study aimed to provide evidence that the suspected Begonia species are different from known species of Begonia by performing morphological and phylogenetic analysis. The morphological characters were recorded and compared to the closest known affinities of the suspected species. The ITS region of the nrDNA of the suspected novel species was sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. B. sp. nov. 1 closely resembles B. gutierrezii but differs in multiple morphological characters. ITS data for B. gutierrezii is unavailable so no molecular analysis was done. B. sp. nov. 2 closely resembles B. suborbiculata but differs by having a three-winged fruit. They form separate clades and have pairwise difference of 0.044. B. sp. nov. 3 closely resembles B. cleopatrae but differs in many morphological characteristics. They form separate clades and have pairwise difference of 0.035.