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Why this new plant species holds a Guinness World Record

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A Begonia gigantica plant is cut up for easier transportation. (Daike Tian via SWNS)

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

A new plant species measuring over 10 feet tall is believed to be world's biggest begonia.

Scientists have contacted Guinness World Records after the specimen was discovered in Tibet.

With more than 2,000 known species, Begonia is one of the largest plant genera.

Dr. Daike Tian with an individual of Begonia gigantica. (Qing-Gong Mao via SWNS)

But as most are houseplants or small weeds, a begonia taller than a human is a very unusual sight.

But the newly discovered Begonia gigantica is one of the few exceptions.

Dr. Daike Tian and his colleagues initiated a field survey on wild begonias in Tibet.

But Dr. Tian knew he had found something special when he saw a huge begonia in full bloom during surveys in the county of Mêdog on September 10 last year.

After checking its flowers, he was confident it represented a new species.

From a small population with a few dozen individuals, Dr. Tian collected two of the tallest ones to measure them and prepare specimens necessary for further study.

"One of them was 3.6 meters tall, the thickest part of its ground stem close to 12 centimeters in diameter," said Dr. Tian, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The research team pose with a specimen of Begonia gigantica.at the first Chinese begonia show in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden. (Meiqin Zhu via SWNS)

To measure it correctly, he had to ask the driver to stand on top of the vehicle. In order to carry them back to Shanghai and prepare dry specimens, Dr. Tian had to cut each plant into four sections.

"To date, this plant is the tallest begonia recorded in the whole of Asia," he said.

Begonia gigantica, recently described as a new species in the journal PhytoKeys, grows on slopes under forests along streams up to 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) above sea level.

"It is fragmentally distributed in southern Tibet, which was one of the reasons that its conservation status was assigned to Endangered according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria," said Dr. Tian.

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The research team measures the height of a Begonia gigantica individual at its collection site. (Qing-Gong Mao via SWNS)
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Begonia gigantica.exhibited at the first Chinese begonia show in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden.(Daike Tian via SWNS)
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The main stem base of Begonia gigantica. (Daike Tian via SWNS)

After being dried at a herbarium and mounted on a large board, the dried specimen was measured at 3.1 meters (10.1 feet) tall and 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide.

"To our knowledge, this is the world’s largest specimen of a Begonia species," Dr. Tian said.

"The visitors who saw it at the first Chinese begonia show in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden were shocked by its huge size."

He said the the staff of Chenshan Herbarium have applied for Guinness World Records status for the specimen.

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