Finding a Begonia during the dry season

Dryest month during a historical drought (no rain for 4 months) and we decided to search for a Begonia - a notoriously humidity-loving plant at a little known corner of The Philippines.....a fool-hardy endeavour no doubt but we are are no beach-lovers and there were little else to do here...

We were on the road for almost a day ......

slept comfortably, then set up on a boat the next morning.

Unfortunately, the water level was too low and we had to push the boat across the pebbly bottom .....

past some curious locals .....

and eventually decided to land near a dry tributary.

The stream was totally dry and there were steep banks on both our lefts and rights - on wetter days, we would be walking with our heads under the water.

I was not claustrophobic, just hoping it wasn't raining somewhere upstream which would trigger a flash flood ......


And then, suddenly we saw it, growing flat against the steep banks .....

There are some variations in the venation. This one  ....

and this one, found deeper up along the dry stream ....

and something in between .....

 

The plant is from Section Diploclinium and is clearly related to the Begonia cleopatrae described in 2010 and yet its quite different in rosette growth form (rather than a creeper). The flowers and the seed capsules also exclude it from B. suborbiculata but there are quite a few similar looking plants here and I do not have sufficient literature to fall back on. 

....having satisfied our curiosities, we now have to plough back and get some decent food and a good bed ....