Beccarinda

Full name and orig. publication: Beccarinda Kuntze, Revis. gen. 2: 470 (5 Nov. 1891).

Etymology: Named after Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920), an eminent Italian naturalist and botanist, still known for his book „Wanderings in the great forests of Borneo“ (1904). 

Synonyms: Slackia Griff. (1854), non Griff. (1848) nec Griff. (1851); Petrodoxa Anthony (1934).

Infrafamilial position: Didymocarpoid Gesneriaceae - "Advanced Asiatic and Malesian genera" (Weber 2004).

Description: Perennial herbs, rarely subshrubs. Stemless with basal leaves or with leafy unbranched stem. Indumentum of white, fawn, brown or reddish-purple hairs. Leaves petiolate, lamina elliptic or ovate to ovate-orbicular with cordate base. Cymes axillary, flower sometimes in umbelliform or pseudocapitate arrangement: Sepals 5, free to base. Corolla blue-purple or red, campanulate, bilabiate. Stamens 4, inserted near corolla base, included, anthers all coherent, thecae subparallel, apically confluent, dehiscing poricidally. Nectary ring-like or inconspicuous. Ovary ovoid, stigma capitate. Capsule making an angle with the pedicel, straight, ovoid to oblong, opening on the upper side.

Chromosome number: 2n = 20.

Species number: Ca. 8.

Species names (incl. publication and synonyms): See Skog, L.E. & J.K. Boggan. 2005: World checklist of Gesneriaceae: http://persoon.si.edu/Gesneriaceae/Checklist.

Type species: Beccarinda griffithii (C.B.Clarke) Kuntze

Distribution: NE India (Assam), Burma, S China & Hainan (5 spp.), Vietnam (Tonkin), Sumatra.

Ecology: Terrestrial plants, probably growing on humid rocks; ecology little known

Notes: : The species are not yet thoroughly understood. The discovery of a species in Sumatra (Burtt 1998c) reinforces Burtt's suggestion (1955) that the genus is of tropical affinity, the closest relatives being perhaps "Didissandra sect. Stilpnothrix" (now Ridleyandra sect. Stilpnothrix) and "Didymocarpus sect. Loxocarpus" (now Henckelia sect. Loxocarpus), having a similar fruit type (follicular capsule) in common.

Selected references: Burtt, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 22: 61-64 (1955), prov. rev.; Wang et al. in Wu & Raven (eds.), Fl. China 18: 285-286 (1998) (Chinese spp.); Burtt, Beitr. Biol. Pflanzen 70 (2-3):   377-382 (1998, "1997"), new sp.

Bibliography: See Skog, L.E. & J.K. Boggan. 2005. Bibliography of the Gesneriaceae. 2^nd edition: http://persoon.si.edu/Gesneriaceae/Bibliography.

Illustrations:

Beccarinda griffithii (C.B.Clarke) Kuntze, type species Griffith, Icon. pl. Asiat., t. 433 (1854), as Slackia griffithii C.B.Clarke

Beccarinda argentea  (Anthony) B.L.Burtt China, Yunnan, Pingbian county, Dawei Shan, phot. M. Möller (no. MMO 01-58)

Beccarinda cordifolia (Anthony) B.L.Burtt Herbarium specimen (Kingdon Ward 20988, BM)

last modified: 2007-07-13