A pantropical mega-diverse genus
Begonia has a pantropical distribution and is one of the largest genera of flowering plants, containing around 2070 species. The goal of this research programme, (supported by the M.L. MacIntyre Begonia Trust), is to document species diversity in the genus and to understand the evolutionary processes that have given rise to it. We are building an extensive wild-origin species collection to underpin this research, as well as making use of the excellent national Begonia collection at Glasgow Botanic Garden.
Begonia Resource Centre: With over 57K specimen records and complete nomenclature for all names in Begonia.
Species discovery: We have described over 100 new species with in-country collaborators, with many more on the way discovered during fieldwork or in the herbarium. Led by Mark Hughes and Peter Moonlight.
Sumatran Begonia: A revision of all species on the island (ca. 70 species) is underway, in collaboration with Herbarium Bogoriense and Kebun Raya Bogor. By Mark Hughes & Deden Girmansyah (PhD student, Bogor). Latest paper here: Six new species from Sumatra.
New Guinea herbarium genomics: Possibly the fastest angiosperm radiation on earth is being investigated by Hannah Wilson, MacIntyre Trust PhD scholar.
Check our Evo-Devo Begonia page for our genomic and developmental biology research.