Begonia annulata - Leaf-Ring Begonia

Leaf-Ring Begonia is a herb, 15-30 cm cm tall, with rootstocks creeping with fibrous roots. Leaves are simple, opposite, leaf-stalks about 5-15 cm long, densely velvet-hairy. Leaves are blade ovate, basifixed, base heart-shaped with lobes almost not overlapping, 9-15 x 5-10 cm, asymmetric, upper surface dark green with a white or silver ring running inside the margin. Inflorescences are few flowered; bracts lanceshaped to ovate, 6-12 x 2-5 mm. Male flowers: flower-stalk 1.0-3.3 cm long, finely velvet-hairy; tepals 4; outer tepals broadly obovate, 1.1-2.2 x 1.0-1.6 cm, white to pink, woolly on reverse near base, margin entire; inner tepals oblong-obovate, 1-2 x 0.5-1.0 cm, white to pink; androecium with 60-90 stamens, symmetric; filaments 2 mm long, nearly equal, fused at base into a short column. Female flower: flower-stalk 2.5-3.0 cm long, finely velvet-hairy; bracteoles absent; tepals 4-5, equal, obovate-round, outer tepals, 1.0-1.6 x 0.5-1.1 cm, white to pale pink, finely velvet-hairy on reverse to hairless, margin entire, inner tepals similar yet smaller; ovary 2-locular, placentae bifid. Leaf-Ring Begonia is found in Arunachal-Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram & Nagaland; also in Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar and Vietnam, at altitudes of 600-2000 m. Flowering: December-June.