Volume 16 > Part 2 > Year 2023 > Page 339 > Zingiberaceae > Alpinia

2. Alpinia conchigera Griff.wfo-0000338416

Not. Pl. Asiat. 3: 424. 1851; Gagnep., Fl. Indo-Chine 6(1): 99. 1908; Holttum, Gard. Bull. Singapore 13(1): 142. 1950; Wu & Larsen in C.Y.Wu & P.H.Raven (eds), Fl. China 24: 336. 2000.— Strobidia conchigera (Griff.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 698. 1891.— Languas conchigera (Griff.) Burkill, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1930: 37. 1930. Plate XLI: A.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Herb 1.2–1.6 m tall. Leaf sheath shortly pubescent near base of petiole and ligule; ligule 0.2–1 by 0.5–1 cm, apex acute, shortly pubescent; blade oblong-elliptic, 15–45 by 2–16 cm, glabrous except midrib and margin shortly pubescent, base attenuate-cuneate, apex acuminate-caudate, not deflexed; petiole 0.5–1.5 cm long, shortly pubescent. Inflorescence paniculate, 18–45 cm long, usually with 1–3 branches at base, each subtended by long sheaths; sheath elliptic-oblong, 10–23 by ca 1 cm, shortly white pubescent; peduncle shortly white pubescent; rachis slender, shortly white pubescent, bearing many cincinni; bracts ovate, 3–5 by 2 mm, often shorter, caducous, sometimes smaller or wanting on lower cincinni; peduncle of cincinnus shortly white pubescent, 5–7 mm long with 3–5 flowers per cincinnus; bracteoles tubular, 2–6 by 1 mm, apex obliquely truncate, shortly white pubescent; pedicel slender, ca 3 mm long, glabrous. Flowers white; ovary ovoid, green, shiny, glabrous; style slender; stigma cup-shaped; epigynous glands ca 3 by 1 mm; calyx tubular, 3–4 by 2 mm, apex broadly trilobed, two lobes larger, greenish, glabrous; floral tube ca 6 mm long, longer than calyx, sparsely pubescent, white or greenish, dorsal corolla lobe oblong, ca 9 by 4 mm, apex hooded, lateral corolla lobes smaller, oblong, apex hooded; lateral staminodes quadrangular, ca 2 by 1 mm, red, apex acute; labellum obovate to suborbicular, ca 6 by 6 mm, strongly concave, pinkish white or red-pinkish with 4–5 red streaks on each side, on either side the two lying almost in one plane across base of filament, their margins touching, median longitudinal band of labellum with irregularly wrinkled surface; stamen: filament rather slender, curved, ca 5 mm long, yellowish to pinkish, glabrous; anther ca 3 by 2 mm, anther crest wanting. Fruit spherical, ca 8 mm diam., green when young, pink or red when mature, glabrous, with remains of flower at apex; seeds 3–5, 1–2 per locule, relatively large, strongly aromatic, aril white.

Thailand : NORTH-EASTERN: Loei; EASTERN: Nakhon Ratchasima; SOUTH-WESTERN: Phetchaburi; CENTRAL: Nakhon Nayok, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok); SOUTH-EASTERN: Prachin Buri, Chon Buri, Trat; PENINSULAR: Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Satun, Songkhla, Narathiwat.

Distribution : India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Laos (type of Alpinia laosensis), Vietnam, Malaysia (Malacca – type), Indonesia.

Ecology : Swampy forests, open and shaded areas, 0–50 m alt. and evergreen forests, 150–1,200 m alt. Also cultivated. Flowering: April–June; fruiting: June–September.

Vernacular : Kha (ข่า), kha ling (ข่าลิง), kha nui (ข่าหนุ่ย)(Peninsular); ku-wa-kue-ting (กูวะกือติง)(Malay-Narathiwat).

Notes: This species occurs in two distinct habitats; lowland swampy forests and evergreen forest at higher altitudes. Some individuals are similar to the Sumatran Alpinia sumatrana, but A. conchigera differs in its larger and wider inflorescence.