Searching for Sumatran Begonia described by William Jack: following in the footsteps of a 19th century Scottish botanist

ABSTRACT. Eight species of Begonia were described from Sumatra in 1822 by the Scottish botanist William Jack. All of the type material associated with these names was destroyed in a fire in 1824, and an expedition was mounted in August 2010 to re-visit Jack’s collecting localities in an effort to find material suitable for neotypification. Of the eight species, two (Begonia bracteata Jack and B. racemosa Jack) could be neotypified with certainty, whilst others require further work. It is possible that some of the species described from Bengkulu province may have become extinct due to loss of forest habitat