Promoting Researchers

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Begonia Researchers and Explorers across the Globe

The American Begonia Society is grateful for the talented and dedicated pool of researchers and explorers around the globe, all of whom work tirelessly to refine, expand, and protect the family Begoniaceae.

Mark C. Tebbitt, PhD, is a Professor of Botany and the Greenhouse Curator at California University of Pennsylvania. His Begonia systematics research includes fieldwork in South America and Asia and has produced over 35 scientific publications.

Publications:

Wisnu Ardi, MS, works for the Bogor Botanic Gardens Research Center for Plant Conservation and Botanic Gardens-LIPI; Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Wisnu is cited in over 37 scientific publications and is identifying new species from Sulawesi and the Indonesian archipelago.

Publications:

  • A new species of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and an augmented description of Begonia bonthainensis in Reinwardtia 18(1): 19-26 2019. Ardi, W.H. & Thomas, D.C.
  • Dividing and conquering the fastest growing genus: Towards a natural sectional classification of the mega-diverse genus Begonia (Begoniaceae). Taxon 67, 267–323. 2018.
  • https://bogorbotanicgardens.academia.edu/WisnuArdi

Peter Moonlight, PhD, is a research associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, and specializes in the use of taxonomic data in answering large scale, macro-ecological questions. He has been working with Andean begonias for almost a decade.

Publications:

Mark Hughes, PhD, conducts research in two areas, one based on classical herbarium taxonomy and the other focusing on biogeography from regional to continental scales. His work focuses in Southeast Asia, particularly Sumatra and the Philippines. Developed the Begonia Resource Database at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE).

Publications:

Ludovic Kollmann, MS. is an Assoc. Researcher at the Mello Leitão Museum and the National Institute of the Atlantic Forest. Ludovic’s work is in Botany, with emphasis on taxonomy of phanerogams, specializing in the Begoniaceae and Orchidaceae families; and the flora of Espírito Santo.

Publications:

  • Begonia Goldingiana Kollmann & A. P. Fontana (Begoniaceae), a New Species from the Atlantic Forest of Southern Bahia, Brazil. 2010 Candollea 65(2)
  • Begonia Pachypoda Kollmann & Peixoto (Begoniaceae), a New Species from Brazil Currently known in Cultivation as Begonia Leathermaniae O’Reilly & Kareg. Ludovic Jean Charles Kollmann, Ariane Luna Peixoto, Candollea, 68(1):93-97 (2013).
  • https://independent.academia.edu/LudovicKollmann

Mauro Peixoto, co-owner of Brazilplants.com supplies seed and plants of Brazilian species and both collected and guided excursions across Brazil and Latin America. Emphasis on Gesneriaceae with Dr. Alain Chautems at the Geneva Botanical Garden, however he offers over 60 species of Begonia seed to collectors.

Publications:

Jacky Duruisseau, PhD (1943-2018) Jacky Duruisseau was a professor of mathematics, who was given a Begonia by one of his students and thus began his fascination with begonias. He collected in Gabon, Sao Tomé, Madagascar, Ecuador, and Colombia. His personal collection included 500-600 species and was recognized by the French government as a CCVS (Conservatoire des Collections Végétales Spécialisées).

Publications:

  • Begonia henrilaportei. D. Scherberich & J. Duruisseau (Begoniaceae), a new endemic species from the Masoala peninsula, Madagascar. (2016). Candollea 71: 13–18.
  • Three new species of Begonia sect. Erminea (Begoniaceae) from north-east Madagascar. David Scherberich, Jacky Duruisseau. Biology, 3 June 2019.

Ching-i Peng, PhD. (1950-2018). Dr. Peng conducted research on the taxonomy of East Asian plants and was an expert on Asian Begonia. He named over 121 plants and collected over 25,000 live and herbarium samples. He was highly respected and well-loved around the globe.

Publications:

  • Experimental hybridization reveals biased inheritance of the internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal DNA in Begonia × taipeiensis. TY Chiang, KH Hong, CI Peng. Journal of Plant Research 114 (3), 343-351.
  • Novelties in Begonia Coelocentrum: B. longgangensis and B. ferox from limestone areas in Guangxi, China. Ching-I Peng, Hsun-An Yang, Yoshiko Kono, Kuo-Fang Chung, Yu-Song Huang, Wang-Hui Wu & Yan Liu. Botanical Studies volume 54, Article number: 44 (2013)
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7182648

David Scherberich, PhD. is Head of Science and Collections at the Lyon Botanical Garden, France, which holds the French National Begonia Collection. His research focuses mostly on Malagasy Begonia of which he has described several new species notably in collaboration with the late Jacky Duruisseau.

Publications:

Yu Pin Ang, BS from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, volunteering at NGO Philippines Taxonomic Initiative Inc. His current research is in the systematics of Begoniaceae, particularly those of the Philippines.

Publications:

  • Begonia makuruyot (Begoniaceae, section Baryandra), a new species from Surigao del Norte Province, Philippines. November, 2020. Phytotaxa. Mark Gregory Quirequire Rule, Yu Pin Ang, Rosario R Rubite, and Alastair Robinson.
  • Begonia truncatifolia (Begoniaceae, section Baryandra), a new species from Palawan Island, the Philippines. September, 2020. Phytotaxa. Rene Alfred Anton Bustamante, D.N. Tandang, Mc Andrew Pranada, and Yu Pin Ang.

Rosario Rubite, PhD is the only specialist on Begonia in the Philippines. She has written 26 publications and has discovered and named 25 new species of Begonia. Her research on Philippine begonias generates morphological and molecular data. Dr. Rubite’s work helped accomplish the Philippines’ declaration as a center of diversity for Begonia.

Publications:

  • West to east dispersal and subsequent rapid diversification of the mega‐diverse genus Begonia (Begoniaceae) in the Malesian archipelago. DC Thomas, M Hughes, T Phutthai, WH Ardi, S Rajbhandary, R Rubite, AD Twyford, JE Richardson. 2012. Journal of Biogeography 39(1) pg:98-113.
  • Phylogenetic analyses of Begonia sect. Coelocentrum and allied limestone species of China shed light on the evolution of Sino-Vietnamese karst flora. KF Chung, WC Leong, RR Rubite, R Repin, R Kiew, Y Liu, CI Peng. Botanical Studies 55 (1), 1-15.
  • https://cas.upm.edu.ph/blog/2019/07/09/dr-rosario-r-rubite-outstanding-researcher

Daike Tian, PhD. Dr. Tian focuses on native Begonia species and natural Begonia hybrids in China. Research also involves classification and assessment of ornamental plants, as well as breeding and evaluation of Lotus (Nelumbo). Dr. Tian has published over 10 research papers on endemic Begonia species.

Publications:

  • Diversity and Conservation of Chinese Wild Begonias. May 2018. Plant Diversity 40(3). Daike Tian, Yan Xiao, Yi Tong, Naifeng Fu, Qingqing Liu and Chun Li.
  • Several new records, synonyms, and hybrid-origin of Chinese begonias. PhytoKeys 2020 (16)153:13-35. Dai-Ke Tian, Yan Xiao, Yan-Ci Li , and Ke-Jian Yan
  • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daike-Tian

Yu-Min Shui, PhD. Professor of botany at Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Research focuses on the composition and evolutionary patterns of the biodiversity of the karst regions of SE Yunnan, China and the adjacent regions of the Indo-China peninsula. The conservation of the local biodiversity, ecosystem and recovery from forest degradation.

Publications:

  • Shui Y. M., Chen W. H. 2010. A Checklist of the Flowering Plants in Southeast Yunnan. Kunming: Yunnan Science and Technology Press. pp. 1-521
  • Shui Y. M., Sima Y. K., Wen J., Chen W. H. 2009. Vouchered Flora of Southeast Yunnan (Vol. 1). Kunming: Yunnan Technology and Sciences Housing, pp.1-160
  • http://groups.english.kib.cas.cn/klpb/sym/rw/201208/t20120809_161532.html

Kuo-Fang Chung, PhD. Acting Museum Director/Associate Research Fellow at Academia Sinica. Research focuses on diversity of vascular plant species, understanding evolutionary processes by applying molecular phylogenetic approaches.

Publications:

  • Cytological Study of Begonia Sect. Coelocentrum (Begoniaceae). 2020. Cytologia. Y. Kono, C.I. Peng, Koganuma, Y. Liu, K.F. Chung
  • Six new species of Begonia from Guangxi, China. (2020) Botanical Studies (61)21. Liu, Y., Tseng, YH., Yang, HA. Hu, AQ., Xu WB., Lin, CW., Kono, Y., Chiung-Chih Chang, Ching-I Peng & Kuo-Fang Chung
  • http://www.biodiv.tw/index.php/en/people/faculty/dr-kuo-fang-chung

Kai-Yun Guan, PhD. published over 110 scientific papers and 23 monographs, and registered twenty seven new plant cultivars. He was awarded as an outstanding scientist by the Chinese government. His research includes conservation biology, plant taxonomy, and horticulture.

Publications:

  • Begonia qingchengshanensis (Sect. Reichenheimia, Begoniaceae), a new species from Sichuan, China. May, 2018 Phytotaxa. Hong-Zhe Li, Kai-Yun Guan, Che-Wei Lin, and Ching-I Peng.
  • A new species of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from Guangxi, China. Hong-Zhe Li, Hong Ma, Zhe-Kun Zhou and Kai-Yun Guan. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008 (157), pg. 83–90
  • http://iabg.scbg.cas.cn/board/201504/t20150416_288777.html

Wen-Ke Dong, aka Victor Dawn, MS. from Beijing Forestry University. Currently Senior Engineer at Beijing Green Garden Group Co. Ltd. Victor has collected wild species in Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi, and N. Vietnam. A communicator and organizer of Begonia information in China. He established a national Begonia society in October 2020 in Shanghai, named the Begonia Committee of China Wild Plant Conservation Association.

Publications:

Claude Barrère a sixth generation horticulturist, his grandfather supplied lilacs to royal courts in the 1800’s. Begonias were always a part of his garden, and his family’s gardens. Claude implemented his website ‘Ma collection de Begonias botaniques’ which introduces new Begonia lovers to hybrids and species from around the world, herbarium samples, stories of Claude’s experiences growing these plants, and his travels volunteering to pull up invasive plants in forests of Mauritius, an internship in Japan, and collecting plants in Cuba, the Ukraine or Siberia. https://collectiondebegonias.wordpress.com

Scott Hyndman, BS. Scott’s research career has been in plant biotechnology and specialized plant tissue culture applications in plant science. He also spends much of his time exploring for plants in the US, Scotland, Mexico, Ecuador, Costa Rica, China, Borneo, and Sarawak.

Publications:

  • Mineral Nutrition and In Vitro Growth of Gerbera hybrida (Asteraceae). 2014. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology, 50(4). RP Niedz, S. Hyndman, T. Evans and A. Weathersbee.
  • The Role of Sucrose and Nitrogen in Adventitious Root Formation on Cultured Rose Shoots, 1980. Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture 1(1):229-238. S.Hyndman, PM. Hasegawa, and R. Bressan.

Mary Sizemore. Mary loves exploring and studying plants, and she is drawn to those with striking leaf qualities. She has recorded over 55 begonias which may be new species, catalogued in the U# program of the American Begonia Society. She has traveled through Indonesia, Borneo, the Philippines, Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, China and Thailand. Her portfolio of discoveries and honors includes: Begonia sizemoreae (syn. B. U388), Aspidistra ‘Mary Sizemore’, Amorphophallus sizemoreae, Xanthosoma sizemoreae and Arisaema sizemoreae.

W. Scott Hoover, partnered with the Indonesian Government’s Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the New England Tropical Conservatory (NETC) for botanical expeditions to parts of Indonesia. Scott has collected throughout Central and Latin America, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea in conjunction with Harvard University, the Arnold Arboretum, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian.

Publications:

  • Stomata and Stomatal Clusters in Begonia: Ecological Response in Two Mexican Species. Biotropica, Vol. 18(1), 1986. W. Scott Hoover
  • Notes on a Novel Abaxial Leaf Epidermis in Ecuadorian Begonia parviflora. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. Vol. 71(2), 1990. W. Scott Hoover.

Rekha Morris, PhD has documented over 60 species of Begonia in Mexico, over 40 species in India and a dozen more in Costa Rica. Dr.Morris has published over 64 articles on Begonia, and presented her findings in the US, India, and Australia. Her explorations have brought over 70 potential new species of Begonia to the U Number program. Dr. Rekha Morris has been awarded the Herbert P. Dyckman, the Eva Kenworthy Gray, and the Rudolf Ziesenhenne awards for contributions to the community and science of begonias.

Publications:

  • Species Begonias of the Eastern Himalayas of Arunachal, India. By Rekha Morris. KBCC Press. 2017.
  • McMillan, Patrick D, Wyatt, Graham, Morris, Rekha, The Begonia of Veracruz: Additions & Revisions, Acta Botanica Mexicana 75:77-99 (2006).

Patrick Rose, is the horticulturist who began the Rochefort Collection in 1987. The collection was built on the begonias of Vincent Millerioux. Millerioux in turn built his collection from the germplasm of the Botanic Garden at Liège. Patrick has continued to add to and maintain the collection for over 34 years. What began with 245 species and cultivars of Begonia has grown to over 1800 taxa, in about 1200 square meters of greenhouse space. The collection works with other Botanic Gardens, such as the Botanic Garden of Lyon, and AFABEGO the French Begonia Society, as well as with collectors and conservation botanists from around the world on the preservation of both species and hybrids of Begonia. http://www.begonia.rochefort.fr/default.htm

 

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