by Jacky Duruisseau

29 May to 20 June 2014

In 2012, our first trip took place in March, in the rainy season: the volcanoes were in the clouds and the begonias were in flower but had practically no fruit! So this second trip had two goals: to see the summits of the volcanoes, which rise to over 6,000 m, and to find begonia seeds, particularly from sections Gobenia and Eupetalum. We expected June, in the dry season, to be more favourable: we would see the snowy summits of Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, and find fruit on the begonias. Mother Nature had other ideas – but only as far as the weather was concerned: a rainy season that would not end, and a lot of water during the first two weeks! And summits even more invisible than in 2012! But the begonia fruits were there…

First, a word about Ecuador’s extraordinary biodiversity. The reason, of course, is the diversity of its relief: two cordilleras, one receiving the rain from the Pacific to the west and the other from the Amazon to the east, with a plateau at about 2,500 m between them, the Avenue of the Volcanoes. This leads to a great range of altitudes – our searches took us from sea level in Guayaquil to 3,500 m in the cordilleras – and therefore a great variety of climates: hot and humid equatorial on the western and eastern flanks of both ranges, from 500 to 2,500 m; cool and humid in the Andean “cloud forests” from 2,000 to 3,500 m. We came across everything in between.

Let me tell you about it…

Lita area : Lita is a small town north of Quito, near the Colombian border, about 200 km from the capital. We are in the western cordillera, in a rugged, hot region partly covered by very humid rainforest, watered by rain from the Pacific. Many mountain streams tumble down from the heights. Here we find again the giant of the genus Begonia, B. parviflora, (photo 1), which can reach 3.50 m in height! Hard to grow this one in the living room! For Chantal and Jean-Louis Béreau, on their first begonia trip, it is a revelation! The plant is in flower. In fact, we will find this species in all the humid mid-altitude forests of Ecuador, where its inflorescences of countless small white flowers (hence its name) make it easy to spot from afar on the forested slopes.

We visit two other streams a little further west and find a species we had not seen in 2012 (photo 2), ), an epiphyte on trunks and rocks near the stream, right by the road, which could belong to section Gobenia. Our guide Sebastian falls into the stream, followed by Chantal, as if to celebrate the christening of her first begonia B. parviflora seen in the wild… the rocks are slippery, but the clear water is not very cold!

Baeza area : We cross to the Amazon side after going over the Papallacta pass (4,000 m) in the rain. A typical páramo landscape: peat bogs, cushion plants and high-altitude moorland; it is cold and we find no begonias here… of course! The rivers rush furiously down towards… the Amazon! Baeza is Ecuador’s northern gateway to the Amazon. After Baeza, the road follows the pipeline (Ecuador has oil, which contributes to growth of over 6%) and takes us to the San Rafael falls (closed after the Quijos river flooded). Several interesting sites in this area: after the village of El Chaco, in a fragment of forest, we find B. parviflora, B. glabra and a poorly identified species of section Gobenia (photo 3): unfortunately, no flowers or fruit on this beautiful climber (which was in flower in March 2012); we will come across this epiphyte very often (photo 4) all the way to San Rafael, particularly near the Malo waterfall, where it grows in large numbers on mossy trunks, in very high humidity from the spray of the falls; but there too, not a single flower, not a single seed. On the way down from Baeza, a track we visited in 2012 lets us rediscover a species I had thought was B. tiliifolia ; in fact it is B. consobrina (photo 5): the leaves of the two species look alike – entire, asymmetrical, drooping, broader in B. tiliifolia ; it is mainly the flowers that tell them apart: the inflorescences of B. tiliifolia are unisexual and white; those of B. consobrinaare bisexual and pink. The flora by Wasshausen and Lyman B. Smith on the begonias of Ecuador does not mention this important difference. Strange!

Misahualli / Puyo area : The flora mentioned above listed begonias a few kilometres from Baeza towards the village of Cosanga: the information is too vague and we find nothing! On the other hand, going up a path along the Río Oritayacu, we find again, on the trees beside the track, the species of section Gobenia we saw near San Rafael; Colette spots a magnificent flowering epiphytic orchid of the genus Lycaste. We take another track a little further on: the same begonia grows on every stump (evidence that there was once a forest here!). It is almost in full sun, and its flowers are red! (photo 6 ) At the top of the path we find it again in a forest fragment: the leaves are brown (photo 7)! Is it the same species? No flowers to compare. We begin a foray into Antisana Park, visited in 2012, but torrential rain forces us to turn back. A few kilometres further on, by the roadside, a plant with extraordinary red flowers: B. urticae (photo 8), which I thought was B. longirostris, of section Casparya : the fruits have a very pronounced beak, characteristic of the section; flowers and fruit are both present.

In the evening we arrive in Misahualli, a small Amazonian town on the Napo river (a tributary of the Amazon). A hot, humid atmosphere and a completely different feel from the Andes: a certain languor… Monkeys wander around “downtown”; the guidebook advises caution and leaving nothing within their reach! The Auberge Espagnole welcomes us for the night: the advert (online) promised a room overlooking the Napo… True enough, the Napo flows 50 m from the inn, but can hardly be seen behind buildings with corrugated iron roofs… At dinner, our guide Sebastian tucks into… larvae (beetle larvae!). Colette has a taste… not convinced. We fall back on tilapia (a freshwater fish) with cassava, tomatoes and onions: delicious! In the inn’s garden, a begonia! We notice flowers, fruit, seedlings and young plants all at once: surely an annual begonia, which is later confirmed – it is B. humilis (photo 9 )

We resume our begonia hunt the next day, on the road to Puyo. We are still on the Amazon side, and on the edge of the Jatun Sacha reserve we discover a marvel: B. maynensis (photos 10, 11).

We know this begonia: we all grow it under the name B. longimaculata. Mark Tebbitt confirms that it is indeed the same plant. The blade is very variable, the silvery spots between the veins being more or less present and sometimes completely absent. Very few flowers, but very ripe fruit (some of the seeds have already gone) at this very fine site, where we also come across many interesting plants, including spectacular aroids and a superb gesneriad (photo 12). A short visit to the Puyo “botanical trail” lets us discover a species I did not know, B. buddleiifolia (photo 13): flowers and fruit. In the evening we stay at the Altos del Pastaza Lodge, a few kilometres from Puyo: a magnificent view of the Pastaza river flowing 200 m below (photo 14).

Baños area : this day was supposed to be the day we discovered the rare Begonia hitchcockii of section Gobenia. We explore the paths and streams along the road in vain. We only find species we have already seen: B. parviflora, B. consobrina, B. urticae, B. buddleiifolia. A species we often saw in 2012 grows along the roadsides! It is B. fischeri , which could be called a ruderal species, so well does it seem to cope with roadsides, the vicinity of inhabited areas and the edges of the paths leading to them. A visit to the “Devil’s Cauldron”, a huge waterfall (photo 15), lets us glimpse a few plants of B. foliosa. The hotel that evening stands at the foot of an active volcano, Tungurahua… No eruption is forecast for tonight…

Macas area : We leave Baños and cross the Atillo pass at 3,500 m. The descent is very rich in orchids of all kinds (Ecuador has more than 4,000 species). A little lower down, at an altitude of about 2,800 m, we discover several colonies of another begonia of section Gobenia ; it may be B. maurandiae , which we also saw in the Mindo area and in Antisana Park in 2012. Mark Tebbitt believes the taxonomy of section Gobenia , to which this species belongs, needs a complete overhaul, and that it will take several years! The last site, 5 km past the pass, is quite remarkable: this creeping begonia, a climber, covers several square metres of bank and the plant is in flower (photos 16, 17, 18); the male flowers are fully open, while the barely formed female flowers will probably open later. No fruit to be seen! We had stopped for a picnic in exactly the right place! After this very interesting discovery, we reach Macas and our guesthouse, which can only be called “charming”; we are welcomed like royalty by our hostess, who is English and… equally charming… Typically Ecuadorian dinner and breakfast the next morning on the terrace above the garden (photo 19)

Loja area : The rain follows us south towards Zamora. We are still on the Amazon side of the eastern cordillera. Between Macas and Gualaquiza we come across the two most common species: B. parviflora and B. fischeri whose seeds are reddish-brown.
The next day, on the road to Zamora, Sebastian spots from the car a very fine colony of B. humilis on the roadside bank, covering the whole bank and the nearby rocks.
We leave Zamora; a “navigation” error leads us to a fine colony of B. guaduensis in flower and fruit. We find the road we were looking for, the old Loja track; it winds along the Zamora river through forested areas: B. guaduensis, B. fischeri, B. parviflora and B. glabra are all present. So are many Chinese workers… building a dam! A little further along the track, we are delighted to come across a wooden house whose front is lined with pots full of flowering plants, including a few begonias… hybrids… (photo 20)
We pass through the big city of Loja under a low, grey sky, heading south towards Vilcabamba. We enter Podocarpus National Park, back in the Andean zone, where we made some fine discoveries in 2012. Many orchids were in flower then, which is no longer the case in June! Disappointment as we reach the primary forest: the edges of the track have been cleared! We glimpse a few remains of B. acerifolia.

Fortunately, a few hundred metres higher up, the clearing has not been done and a very fine colony of this superb begonia appears (photo 21): we are at 2,800 m, it is not very warm and humidity is high. B. acerifolia, of section Knesebeckia has palmately lobed leaves with striking silvery areas along the veins; some leaves are completely green; the root is swollen (tuberous, but not a true tuber) and the plant can reach 1 m in height; unfortunately it is tricky to grow in our climates, preferring its native “cloud forest” to our overheated greenhouses! I grow it outdoors; with 20 cm of dried ferns under a plastic sheet for protection, it survived the winter of 2012–2013. But it is not very sturdy… On the moss of the park’s trees we find again the epiphytic species of section Gobenia we saw earlier; curiously, some leaves have white dots, which makes it a magnificent plant (photo 22); other leaves on the same plant are completely green, without dots; yet others have a red centre and red veins (photo 23). Once again the question arises: is it the same species? No flowers on this beautiful plant, which was in flower in March 2012, but on one plant, 3 m above the ground, a few fruits (photo 24)! We finish the visit with B. urticae in flower. Another species that is very hard to keep in cultivation.

Vilcabamba area : Back to a warmer, sunnier climate in Vilcabamba, the town of centenarians… From there we continue south and explore a few forest fragments; the region is heavily deforested, and the only wooded places left are near the stream beds, in spots too steep to farm. There we find an unknown begonia, a rhizomatous species with large pale green leaves (photo 25); it grows there in great numbers; unfortunately we see no flowers or fruit. It is accompanied by the ever-present B. parviflora !

We head back into the Andes to the Tapichalaca reserve, where we spend the night. Low temperatures, rain and mist! This reserve, visited in 2012, was created by the Jocotoco Foundation, named after a strange and very rare bird we are about to see up close: short wings, no tail, long legs; it lives in the thickets and is fed larvae every day by the lodge staff, so it is almost tame and easy to observe. There are very few individuals left.

Few begonias in the cloud forest at 2,500 m. (photo 26) : B. urticae in a very hairy-leaved form, and again the white-dotted species of section Gobenia, which we ended up seeing quite often on this trip.

Piñas area : This 13 June (a Friday!) will turn out to be a great day… because we are going to find four species! We leave Vilcabamba heading west. A little after Catamayo, having checked its condition (we are always wary of landslides), we take a 50 km track that will lead us to Portovelo, towards Piñas. A mountain landscape with many patches of “dry” forest, quite different from what we saw on the Amazon side and from the Andean cloud forest. The road is lined with banks covered in tall, dense thickets. After 5 km of track, white flowers catch our eye: it’s a begonia! It is B. erythrocarpa (photo 27)  (whose seeds are dark reddish-brown, hence its name). In 2012 we had come across one specimen of this plant, which we did not know at the time, near Alausí on the road to Zhud, but here this begonia really grows in large numbers. A few kilometres further down, our President Jean-Louis discovers his first begonia, and we call it “Jean-Louis sp.” until Mark Tebbitt identifies it as B. piurensis (photo 28).

This plant is apparently going into dormancy: its leaves are withered and dropping; a few flowers and many fruits remain. In 2012 we had seen it in flower near Zhud, where it completely covered the roadside banks; I had never seen such a flowering “carpet”! We will come across B. piurensis and the previous species all the way to Portovelo, i.e. from 2,100 down to 1,300 m. As we approach Portovelo we stop near the La Milagrosa waterfall: conditions here are very different – we have lost almost 1,000 m of altitude and it is hot and humid; along the track, on the bank, white flowers, thick upright stems, few leaves but some fruit: B. ludwigii (photos 29, 30). We carry on “poking around” near the waterfall; on an earthy wall, the last begonia of the day: many young, solitary leaves growing from a tuber. I think of B. serotina ; Mark Tebbitt hesitates with B. nervidens. Only closer study will tell us exactly which species it is. One thing is certain: it is a tuberous begonia starting into growth, while higher up the large begonias we saw earlier are going dormant.

We reach the Buenaventura reserve, also managed by the Jocotoco Foundation, deep in the humid tropical forest. The lively, multicoloured hummingbirds are there to greet us (photo 31) and squabble over the best places at the feeders. In the evening we can watch and listen to owls.

Buenaventura reserve (Piñas area) : We resume our search the next morning. The 4×4 struggles along the reserve track: three trees block the way; they are not huge, and we clear them with a machete and rope (photo 32). B. parviflora is still widespread, as is B. consobrina (photo 33).

The forest here is magnificent and rich: aroids, orchids, bromeliads and ferns are everywhere, growing with incredible exuberance (photos 34/35). Many butterflies keep us company (photo 36). In the evening we visit the rare “bull bird” perched above the track.
We leave this idyllic spot for Cuenca. At the village of El Pasaje we again find, by the roadside, B. ludwigii and B. guaduensis (photo 37). Both plants have flowers and fruit.

Alausí / Huigra area : After spending the night in Cuenca, we head back into the Andes in the centre of the country. We had explored this region in 2012. Near Zhud we find again the two tuberous begonias discovered here: B. froebelii and B. aequatorialis. The first is dormant and the second still in flower. Both have fruit from the previous season. From the photos of B. aequatorialis, (photos 38, 39), Mark Tebbitt thinks there may in fact be two plants: B. aequatorialis and B. pleiopetala ; if so, it would be the first record of B. pleiopetala in this region (we are in Cañar province).
We set off for Alausí; B. froebelii and B. aequatorialis are still present and in fruit. We are at 2,300 m, and I am always surprised to find begonias in mountain meadows, an unusual habitat for begonias (photo 40).

We leave Alausí to reach our stop for the night, the Hacienda La Posada del Nuebes (photos 41, 42), after 7 km of a dizzying track! We are at the end of the world, in a magnificent, authentic place, welcomed by friendly, warm-hearted people.

Last day of begonia hunting: the Huigra area, on the road back “to civilisation”, is often mentioned in the Flora of Ecuador by Wasshausen and Lyman B. Smith. We are supposed to find, among others, B. compacticaulis and B. triramosa , which we do not know. The indications in the flora are vague, to say the least: around Huigra, 5 km north of Huigra, between Huigra and Naranjapata, etc.! No GPS points (the flora dates from 1979). The description of B. compacticaulis suggests a plant very similar to B. ludwigii. And it is surely this one that we see very often in the area: a plant going into dormancy, with only thick stems left, sometimes over a metre tall (and fruit). Mark Tebbitt also thinks that B. ludwigii and B. compacticaulis are probably the same plant. As for B. triramosa , the mystery remains! We come across an unknown plant with pink flowers borne on very long, knotty stems that form real bushes (photos 43, 44), (in 2016 Mark Tebbitt confirmed that it is almost certainly a species new to science). We also glimpse B. guaduensis and B. piurensis.

The day of our return comes (far too quickly, as usual, with the feeling that there is still so much to do and discover). Our results are very positive, however: we found more than 25 species, some new compared with 2012 (B. maynensis, B. buddleifolia, B. urticae, B. humilis) and one new species.

Acknowledgements : I would like to thank the American Begonia Society and the ABS Branches (Sacramento Br, Buxton Br, Carbel Corwin Br, Middle Br, Palm Beaches Br, Potomac Br) for their financial support for this expedition. My thanks also go to the generous individual donors. Without this help, this trip could not have taken place.

Finally, I would like to thank Mark Tebbitt for his help in identifying the plants; I have no doubt that when he has finished revising the taxonomy of the plants of section Gobenia , he will share the results with us.