Volume 16 > Part 2 > Year 2023 > Page 441 > Zingiberaceae > Curcuma

25. Curcuma harmandii Gagnep.wfo-0000365653

Bull. Soc. Bot. France 54: 404. 1907. Plate LIV: A.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Rhizome ovoid, 1.5–2.5 by 1–2 cm, internally pale brown; root tubers ovoid to fusiform, 1.5–2.5 by 1–1.5 cm, internally white. Leafy shoot 40–60 cm tall with 3–4 leaves; bladeless sheaths 10–15 cm long, green, glabrous; leaf sheaths 12–22 cm long, green, glabrous; ligule bilobed, 1–2 mm long, membranous, glabrous; blades elliptic, 15–30 by 4.5–12 cm, green and glabrous on both surfaces, base cuneate, apex acuminate; petiole 6–15 cm long, glabrous. Inflorescence central, 25–50 cm tall; peduncle 20–35 cm long, glabrous; thyrse composed of 4–12 bracts, to 12 cm long; fertile bracts narrowly ovate with acute to obtuse apex, 4.5–10 by 2–3 cm, connate in basal ⅛–¼, distal half strongly reflexed, almost perpendicular to axis, green, glabrous on both surfaces; cincinni with 10–15 flowers in basal bracts; coma bracts absent, uppermost bracts sterile in some plants; bracteoles triangular, somewhat concave, with acute apex, 1.2–1.8 by 0.7–1.1 cm, semitranslucent green, glabrous. Flower open type, 4–5 cm long; ovary subglobose, 2.5–3 by 2 mm, cream-white, glabrous; epigynous glands absent; stigma 1.5 by 1.5 mm, ostiole ciliate; calyx 1–1.2 cm long, tridentate, with unilateral incision 4–5 mm long, semitranslucent green, glabrous; floral tube narrowly cylindrical at base, funnel-shaped distally, 2–2.4 cm long, externally white at base, light green distally, glabrous, internally white, glabrous but pubescent at throat, dorsal corolla lobe elliptic, hooded, 1–1.2 by 0.5–0.7 cm, light green, glabrous; lateral corolla lobes narrowly triangular, concave with rounded apex, ca 1.1 by 0.5 cm, light green, glabrous; lateral staminodes linear with narrowly acute apex, 1–1.3 by 0.1–0.2 cm, white or with greenish centre, glabrous; labellum obovate, 1.5–2 by 1–1.2 cm, prominently bilobed with an incision ca 7 mm, white with yellow median band bordered by pink to red on sides and brighter pink red border at distal end of median band, glabrous but hairy on median band; stamen 7–9 mm long; filament 2.5–3 mm long, ca 3.5 mm wide at base, ca 1.5 mm at point of attachment, cream-white to greenish, densely puberulous above, nearly glabrous below; anther spurless, ca 6 mm long, connective tissue cream-white, sparsely puberulous, anther crest obovate, with emarginate apex, 3–4 mm long, strongly reflexed, densely puberulous above. Fruit not seen.

Thailand : EASTERN: Nakhon Ratchasima; CENTRAL: Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok; SOUTH-EASTERN: Chachoengsao, Chon Buri (Si Racha – type of Curcuma burttii: Larsen 10646, holotype -AAU), Chanthaburi.

Distribution : Cambodia (types of Curcuma harmandii), Laos, Vietnam.

Ecology : Deciduous forests and dry evergreen forests, 100–500 m alt. Flowering: May–October.

Vernacular : Cho morakot (ช่อมรกต).

Uses: Cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Notes: The elongate, green apices positioned nearly perpendicularly to the rest of the bracts allow this species to be easily recognised.