Volume 16 > Part 2 > Year 2023 > Page 613 > Zingiberaceae > Kaempferia

1. Kaempferia albiflora Jenjitt. & Ruchis.wfo-1000023326

Kew Bull. 75(1)–13: 1. 2020. Plate LXXI: A.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Perennial herb, 5–24(–57) cm tall; rhizome subglobose to ovoid, 1–1.7 by 1–2.4 cm, with fascicled tuberous roots, tubers subglobose, ovoid to ellipsoid, 2.5–4.8(–6.5) by 1–1.6 cm. Leafy shoot with 3–6 leaves; pseudostem almost buried in ground, 4–9(–22) cm tall; bladeless leaf sheaths 4–8.5 cm long, green to purplish red, apex rounded to obtuse, sparsely villous; ligule bilobed-truncate, lobes broadly triangular, 1–3 mm long, translucent, greenish white to purplish red, sparsely villous; blade elliptic, lanceolate-oblong to narrowly lanceolate, 9–25(–36) by 2–8(–10) cm, semi-appressed to ground, margin with white to light purplish red band, above dull green, glabrous, occasionally sparsely villous, below light green to tinged purplish red, sparsely villous, base acute, attenuate to obtuse, apex acute to attenuate; petiole subsessile to 2.5 cm long, green to purplish red, sparsely villous. Inflorescence lateral, emerging from rhizome before leafy shoot, ovoid to elongate-ovoid, (3–)4.7–5.2 by 1–1.2 cm; peduncle subsessile to 4 cm long, glabrous; bracts ovate to lanceolate-ovate, 3.6–5 by 2–2.4 cm, light green to deep brownish red, glabrous; bracteoles lanceolate, 2 by 0.8–1 cm, glabrous. Flowers nocturnal; floral plane flat; pistil (5.5–)7–11.5 cm long; ovary cylindrical to ellipsoid, 3–8 by 2–3.5 mm, cream, glabrous; style (4.8–)6.5–11 cm long; stigma crateriform, 1.5–2 by 0.5 mm, ostiole ciliate; epigynous glands linear, 5–6.5(–8) mm long, cream; calyx (4.2–)6–10.5 by 0.4–0.6 cm, with unilateral incision 1.2–2.3 cm long from apex, greenish white, glabrous; floral tube 4.8–10.5 by 0.2–0.3 cm, white, glabrous, dorsal corolla lobe lanceolate-oblong, 3–7.5 by 0.4–0.7 cm, apex mucronate, mucro 2–6 mm long, white, glabrous, lateral corolla lobes lanceolate-oblong, 3–6.8 by 0.3–0.6 cm, apex aristate to acute, white, glabrous; lateral staminodes oblanceolate to oblong, 3.3–5.3 by 1.4–2 cm, apex acute to rounded, white; labellum broadly obovate, 3–4.6 by 3–5.6 cm, deeply bilobed, with incision around two-thirds of labellum length, base involute, enclosing anther, lobes broadly obovate to suborbicular, 2.3–3.2 by 1.8–2.8 cm, apex rounded, undulate to slightly obcordate, white, with pale yellow patch basally, rarely with two pale purple spots at centre; stamen 1–2 cm long; filament subsessile to 1.5 by 2 mm; anther thecae 4–7 by 1.5–2.5 mm, anther crest oblong to ovate, 0.5–1(–1.3) by 0.3–0.5(–0.8) cm, apex irregularly tridentate, middle tooth shorter and wider than laterals, apex acuminate (outer teeth) and acute to rounded (middle tooth). Fruit ellipsoid to subglobose, 2–3 by 0.6–1.5 cm, white, cream to yellowish green, sometimes with stripes of brownish red spots from apex towards ridges, glabrous; seeds obovoid to ellipsoid, (4–)6.5–7.2 by 3–4 mm, neon yellow to pale brown.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Uttaradit (Pichai), Tak (Mueang District – type: Tiptabiankarn 7911, holotype -BKF, isotype -SLR), Sukhothai (Khiri Mat), Phitsanulok (Wat Bot), Kamphaeng Phet (Phran Kratai).

Distribution : Endemic.

Ecology : On sandy soil in partial shade in dry dipterocarp forests, 80–130 m alt. Flowering: May–June.

Vernacular : Pro maeng mum (เปราะแมงมุม).