Begonia hirtella Link, Begoniaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bearded begonia, Brazilian begonia

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Monoecious, fibrous-rooted, short-lived perennial herbs 3-6 dm tall; stems green or red-tinged, erect, branched, covered with long flexuous hairs, especially when younger.  Leaves widely spaced, membranous, blades oblique to petioles, reniform-ovate, (2-) 3-11 cm long, (1-) 2-4 cm wide, upper surface sparsely hirtellous, lower surface sparsely hirtellous only along the principal veins, margins irregularly shallowly toothed and ciliate, petioles usually reddish, 1.5-7 cm long, stipules lanceolate-oblong, 0.7-1.1 cm long, conspicuously long-ciliate, somewhat persistent.  Flowers few, pendent, in branched cymes, bracts deciduous, similar to stipules; staminate perianth parts 2 or 4, outer ones broadly suborbicular, ca. 4-7 mm long, inner ones, when present, narrowly elliptic, ca. 2-3.5 mm long, stamens 10-15, nearly distinct; pistillate perianth parts 5, similar to staminate but smaller.  Capsules ellipsoid, 0.6-0.8 cm long, winged, the larger wing ca. 8-12 mm wide" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 383-384).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized, and sometimes locally common, in disturbed, wet, shaded sites, especially moist banks, 450-940 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 383-384, 1864).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Brazil and Peru (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 383-384).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 383-384) Voucher cited: Degener 9766 (US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 383-384, 1864)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. (1995) (p. 25) Voucher cited: L. Hume & R. Levine 427 (BISH, PTBG, US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 383-384) East Maui
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2004) (pp. 9-10) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer, F. Duvall & L. Nelson H30219 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 383-384)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Begonia hirtella is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Begonia hirtella as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Begonia hirtella may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy W./Wagner, Warren L. 1995. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. III. New additions, range extensions, and rediscoveries of flowering plants. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 41:19-58.

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2004. New Hawaiian plant records for 2003. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2003. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 79:8-20.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).