A new species of fleshy-fruited Begonia (Begoniaceae) from the Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar

A new species of Begonia (B. masoalaensis M.Hughes, sp. nov.) is described from the Masoala Peninsula in north-east Madagascar. The species has fleshy fruit, but bears no other similarity to other fleshy fruited Begonia from Madagascar, and hence probably represents a secondary acquisition of this character, possibly to facilitate zoochory. Begonia masoalaensis possesses an unusual spicate inflorescence architecture, derived from a highly modified monochasial cyme. It is considered to be in the “Vulnerable” IUCN Red List category (VUD2).