Begonia kingiana
A creeping rhizomatous begonia from Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand. Its thick, plastic-feeling leaves are often peltate and vary from plain green to variegated or almost black. In Malaysia it grows only on vertical limestone cliffs in partial shade, in cool, constantly humid microclimates. It is known as picky, and does best on a rocky, sharply drained mount with warm, steady conditions and very high humidity.
Where it grows wild
In Malaysia it is a lithophyte confined to limestone cliffs, often vertical or overhanging faces and ledges in partial shade, with a cool, humid microclimate. Its fleshy rhizome clings to the rock with fibrous roots. In peninsular Thailand it grows on granite rocks in seasonally dry evergreen forest. It can form dense patches on one hill yet be absent from the next.
Recorded at about 200 m in Thailand, and generally found on lowland limestone hills. Few GBIF records carry elevations, so the measured warm lowland climate is broadly consistent.
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