Volume 16 > Part 2 > Year 2023 > Page 713 > Zingiberaceae > Zingiber

18. Zingiber isanense Triboun & K.Larsenwfo-0001340709

Thai J. Bot. 6(1): 61. 2014.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Rhizomatous herb 30–60 cm tall, clump-forming; rhizome vertical, 3–4 cm long; malodorous (bug-like) when crushed. Leaf sheaths 2–4 bladeless, green or purple in lower part; ligule bilobed, lobes rounded, 2–3 mm long, obtuse, pilose; blades 9–11, linear, grass-like, 9–16 by 1–1.7 cm, green and glabrous above, sparsely hairy below, base cuneate, apex acuminate to caudate; petiole 2–3 mm long, light green with some red dots, pilose. Inflorescences 1–5, radical, direct from rhizome; peduncle erect, 5–10 cm long, sheaths 2–5, white, pale pink or purple; spike capitulate, 3–4 by 1–1.5 cm, apex narrowly acuminate; bracts 6–10, imbricate, ovate-lanceolate, ca 2.7 by 0.7 cm, whitish green or greenish purple with purplish dots near apex, apex long acuminate or caudate with hairy tip, sparsely hairy along margin; bracteoles lanceolate, 2.2–2.7 by 0.7–1.2 cm, white, apex acute, glabrescent to pubescent. Flower opening 1–2 at a time; ovary 2.5–3 by 1–2 mm, glabrescent or pubescent in upper half, ovules (6–)8–10 per locule; epigynous glands ca 4 mm long; calyx ca 1.3 cm long, tube ca 5 mm long, lobes 8–9 mm long, apex hairy; floral tube white, 3.2–3.3 cm, glabrous, dorsal corolla lobe 1.4–1.6 by 0.4–0.5 cm, lateral corolla lobes 1.2–1.4 by 0.3–0.4 cm; labellum white, yellow near base, midlobe rounded, 1–1.3 by 1–1.3 cm, side lobes 6–8 by 2–3.5 mm; stamen: filament ca 2 mm long; anther cream-yellow, 6–7 by 2–3 mm, anther crest white, 0.9–1 cm long, longer than stigma. Fruit ovoid-ellipsoid, pale pink to light red; seeds 3–4 per locule.

Thailand : NORTH-EASTERN: Mukdahan (Phu Sa Dok Bua – type: Triboun et al. 3425, holotype -BK, isotypes -AAU KKU); EASTERN: Amnat Charoen, Ubon Ratchathani (Phu Chong Na Yoi, Khong Chiam).

Distribution : Laos.

Ecology : Shaded areas among sandstone boulders in dry evergreen and mixed deciduous forests. Flowering: late May–June, flowers opening in the afternoon.

Vernacular : Khing isan (ขิงอีสาน).

Notes: Zingiber isanense differs from all other Thai Zingiber by having small, grass-like leaves and a bug-like smell. Flowering takes place over a short period before the rainy season.