Characterization of wild Begonia species of Sikkim Himalaya: A study for morphological and antioxidants analysis

Sikkim Himalaya harbors many flora and fauna diversity and is rich in wild ornamental and medicinal plants. To know its valuable resources, present paper emphasizes on three wild Begonia species found in Sikkim Himalaya. Survey and collection of samples was done with randomized sampling methods and collected specimens were evaluated at Sikkim University for its morphological variation and antioxidant potential. Three species viz. Begonia picta, Begonia josephi and Begonia hatacoa were selected for current experiment. All three species showed distinct phenotypic variation between and within the species level. All of them were found in two variations: red (dark) and green phenotypic variant. Dark variants showed superiority in phytochemical screening having higher anthocyanin, flavonoid, phenolic and antioxidant content as compared to green phenotypic variants. The study validates the folklore of these Begonia species having medicinal value and are edible in nature.