e-Flora of Thailand
Volume 16 > Part 2 > Year 2023 > Page 349 > Zingiberaceae > Alpinia
13. Alpinia oxymitra K.Schum.wfo-0000338662
Bot. Tidsskr. 24(3): 268. 1902; Gagnep., Fl. Indo-Chine 6(1): 93. 1908.— Cenolophon oxymitrum (K.Schum.) Holttum, Gard. Bull. Singapore 13(1): 134. 1950. Fig. 2, Plate XLII: A–B.
Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.
Synonyms & Citations :
Description : Herb 2–3 m tall. Leaf sheath glabrous; ligule 0.5–1 by 1 cm, apex rounded, shortly pubescent along margin; blade elliptic-oblong, 40–55 by 2–8 cm, glabrous except stiff marginal hairs, base cuneate, apex acuminate-caudate, to 4 cm long, rather leathery; petiole 2–5 mm long or sessile, glabrous. Inflorescence racemose, erect or drooping, subtended by long sheath when young; peduncle densely pubescent; rachis ca 17 cm long, much thickened at fruiting, densely pubescent, bearing many cincinni; bracts calyptrate, ca 2 by 0.5 cm, densely pubescent, dorsally prolonged upwards into a cucullate point, 3–4 mm long, breaking irregularly near base as buds elongate; peduncle of cincinnus densely pubescent, ca 3 mm long with one flower per cincinnus; bracteoles wanting; pedicel hardly visible at flowering, ca 3 mm long at fruiting. Flowers pale greenish white; ovary ovoid, longitudinally ribbed, densely pubescent; style slender; stigma cup-shaped, ostiole ciliate; epigynous glands ca 3 mm long; calyx tubular, ca 1.2 cm long, pale greenish white, densely pubescent, apex trilobed, split on one side ca 6 mm; floral tube longer than calyx, ca 1.5 cm long, tube and lobes pale greenish white, densely pubescent, dorsal corolla lobe oblong, ca 1.6 by 0.6 cm, apex hooded, pale greenish white, densely pubescent, lateral corolla lobes smaller, oblong, ca 1.3 by 0.4 cm, apex hooded, pale greenish white, densely pubescent; lateral staminodes fan-shaped, ca 5 by 5 mm, apex bilobed, glabrous, white with crimson spots at base; labellum broadly obovate to suborbicular, ca 2 by 2 cm, apex trilobed, somewhat deflexed, white flushed with yellow towards base, with crimson markings on either side of midline near base; stamen: filament ca 1 cm long, shortly pubescent; anther ca 5 by 3 mm, white, shortly pubescent, anther crest membranous, ca 2 by 2 mm, apex trilobed, ciliate along margins. Fruit narrowly ellipsoid, ca 5 by 1.5 cm, longitudinally ribbed, brownish yellow, shortly pubescent, with persistent calyx; seeds angled, aril white.
Thailand : NORTH-EASTERN: Loei; EASTERN: Nakhon Ratchasima; CENTRAL: Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok; SOUTH-EASTERN: Prachin Buri, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat (Ko Chang – type: Schmidt 798, holotype -C, isotype -K); PENINSULAR: Surat Thani, Songkhla, Narathiwat.
Distribution : Malaysia (Kedah – type of Alpinia comosa), Cambodia (syntype of A. macrocarpa), Laos (syntype of A. macrocarpa), Vietnam (syntype of A. macrocarpa).
Ecology : Shaded evergreen forests, to 1,150 m alt. Flowering: February–April; fruiting: April–July.
Vernacular : Chia (เจี๊ยะ)(Chumphon); kluai mu sang (กล้วยหมูสัง)(Northeastern); krawan (กระวาน)(Peninsular); lao (หลาว)(Central); put (ปุด), put yai (ปุดใหญ่)(Songkhla); reo (เร่ว), riao (เรียว)(Chanthaburi).
Notes: Alpinia oxymitra differs from other Thai Alpinia species in having narrowly ellipsoid, longitudinally ribbed fruits.