1266

 Begonia floccifera Bedd.

Family	:	Begoniaceae
Local Name	:	Malayalam-Kalthamara
Flowering and fruiting period	:	January-February
Distribution	:	Southern Western Ghats
Distribution in kerala	:	Palakkad, Idukki, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur, Wayanad, Kottayam
Habitat	:	Evergreen forests
Endemic/Exotic	:	Exotic
Uses	:	Medicinal
Key botanical characters :   Leaves to 18 cm across, reniform or orbicular, obliquely cordate, distantly toothed, floccose-pubescent below, nerves 11, prominent; petiole to 30 cm long. Peduncle solitary or 2-3 together, pubescent; cymes 10 cm across, branched; pedicels filiform. Flowers many; male sepals 4, outer sepals 7 x 7 mm, orbicular; anthers truncate at apex; female sepals 2, 6 x7 mm, orbicular; styles 3, stigmas branched. Capsule 12 x 15 mm; seeds many, vertically ridged 0.5 x 0.25 mm, brown.